


Burnt Pancakes

by ellipsism



Category: Shadowhunters (TV), The Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare
Genre: Alternate Universe - Cinderella Fusion, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Human, Attempt at Humor, Bad Parenting, Fairy Tale Retellings, Fluff, Halloween, Izzy plays Matchmaker, M/M, Pancakes get burnt, Pansexual Simon Lewis, Sibling Love, Simon is adorable, So many TV-Show and Movie References, TW for Loss of Books, Underage Drinking, for the Americans, izzy is the best, maryse is a bitch, often
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-30
Updated: 2016-10-31
Packaged: 2018-08-28 00:13:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 24,480
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8423236
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ellipsism/pseuds/ellipsism
Summary: Alec is a senior at his high school. He’s quiet and likes to keep to himself, only ever talks to his siblings. That’s why he would never dare to approach his crush: The loud and colorful Magnus Bane. When the school then gives a Halloween party, Alec’s sister, Isabelle, seizes the opportunity to play matchmaker and get Alec a little closer to his happily ever after.And so the story begins. A story full of lost books, flying slippers and burnt pancakes.Retelling of "Cinderella"





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ashfairy](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ashfairy/gifts).



> Hello, lovely people!
> 
> This is the first time ever that I'm publishing something and also the first time that I'm writing Malec fanfiction. And the first time that I'm writing something in English, since it's not my native language. So, that's many first times but I hope I still did well enough for you to enjoy it anyway.  
> I always want to improve myself, which is why constructive criticism is highly welcome!
> 
> For plot reasons I made Max older than he actually would be if his siblings all were high school students. I hope you don't mind.
> 
> This is dedicated to and was beta'd by my wonderful girlfriend.

„Stop drooling.”

Alec jumped and raised a hand to his mouth to see if there was actually any saliva. When he was sure that his mouth was indeed saliva-free he muttered "I'm not drooling". He had said it more under his breath than out loud but his sister had heard him nonetheless. 

“Yes, you are. You’re drooling all over the floor because of your little crush,” Isabelle teased with a smirk on her lips. She didn’t look at him, though. Instead she watched the boy a few lockers down the aisle, who was chatting with some of his friends. A boy with magenta streaks in his spiky, black hair.

“I do not have a crush,” Alec insisted and closed his locker with a little more force than necessary. The guy next to him shot him a huffish look but quickly fled when Alec answered with a glare.

“There is no use in denying your feelings, big brother. I can read you like an open book.”

Alec rolled his eyes and shouldered his bag.

“You should ask him out, you know?” she said, but her voice lacked the usual playfulness, giving out how serious she was.

“Yeah, like that’s ever going to happen.” Alec tried to walk past his sister down the aisle, but she simply clung to his arm and walked with him. 

“Why shouldn’t it?” she asked.

“Because…” Alec seemed to struggle for the right words. “Because look at me! I’m nothing! I’m neither fashionable nor sociable. I always wear the same sweaters and all of them are black. The only friends I have are my siblings and I’m fine with that! It’s not like I’m good around people anyway. Hell, I don’t even like people! The point is: He’s way out of my lea – OW!”

Isabelle hat punched him hard in the ribs. She’d stopped walking and, because still holding onto Alec’s arm, was forcing him to stand as well.

“Don’t you dare saying that he’s out of your league!” she threatened.

“Are you crazy? You hit me!” Alec sounded genuinely offended.

“Tell me you don’t actually believe that,” she commanded, completely ignoring his complaint.

“Yeah, well, but it’s true.”

The second punch followed.

“OW! God, Izzy, you really should see someone because of those anger management issues of yours.” Alec, sulking, rubbed his ribcage where Isabelle’s fist had surely left a bruise. 

Again, his sister ignored him. “Alec, you’re one of the brightest heads of your age, the top of your literature class, you’re ripped, won the junior archery championship two times in a row and, even though sometimes it’s annoying how protective you are, you’re also the best big brother that Jace, Max and I could ever ask for.”

Alec, flustered by the overwhelming compliment, didn’t know what to answer.

Isabelle saved him the response by putting her smirk back on and adding: “Neither does it harm that you’re over six feet tall with amazing sex hair and an ass that’s practically begging to be tapped.”

“Izzy…” he groaned, rolling his eyes yet again. He could feel his cheeks heating up from embarrassment. 

“What? It’s true!”

Right on cue the school bell rung, causing the students to hurry to their classes, Alec and Izzy included.

“This is not over yet!” his sister warned him before making her way to her Biology class.

-

It was, indeed, not over yet. Alec had only just taken his chemistry text book out of his bag, ready to do his homework, when Isabelle had come bursting into his room.

“Alright, so Operation Magnus is on. Now all we need is a plan on how you can ask him out without you ending up as a stuttering mess, because I know you and that is most likely what is going to happen.”

With a determined movement she placed her bag right on top of his text book. Alec didn’t even have time to complain, because she had already taken out a notebook that was over and over decorated with cut-outs out of fashion magazines and stickers from her favorite band.

“What’s that?” Alec asked, suspicion wavering in his voice.

“My organizer for Operation Magnus,” Izzy replied with the entire world’s implicitness.

“You’ve got a whole organizer just so you can plan how I can ask Magnus Bane out?” Alec raised his eyebrows in disbelief.

“Of course not, dummy. This is for all my operations of that kind. Though, don’t get me wrong, if you don’t get your head out of your ass I might as well dedicate a whole new notebook just to this operation.” Isabelle already paged through the book to see where she had left off.

“’Of that kind’? How many of those things do you do?”

Isabelle shrugged. “A few.”

“I appreciate your enthusiasm, Izzy, I really do, but before we can plan anything I need to do my homework.”

His sister sighed exasperated. “Why are you always so sensible? You’re no fun! But very well, as you wish. You will do your homework and I will make some pancakes that we can eat while planning Operation Magnus. You know, maybe we should rename it Operation Malec. Since the final goal is to get the two of you together.”

“Name it however you like, but please let me do my homework,” Alec pleaded.

Isabelle grimaced but obeyed, took her bag off his desk and made her way out of his door.

“And ask Jace to help you with the pancakes!” Alec called after her, knowing that her cooking skills would most certainly lead to a disaster.

She closed the door without replying so Alec wasn’t sure if she had actually heard him. He decided to just hope for the best and turned his attention towards his chemistry text book.

-

It was the smell of something burnt that finally made him look up from his school work. For a second or two he wondered what could possibly be the cause of that particular smell; that was until he remembered that Izzy had wanted to make pancakes.

In a heartbeat he was up and out of his room, sprinting into the kitchen. He could only see black smoke arising from the pan and immediately went to take it off the cooker and turn off the heat, but it was too late. The fire alarm kicked in and so did the sprinkler system, soaking both Alec and Isabelle, who was standing at the counter with hunched up shoulders and an apologetic smile. 

“Izzy,” Alec began, eerily calm, while the fire alarm still screamed at full volume and the water kept pouring down, “didn’t I tell you to ask Jace to help you with the pancakes?”

Ashamed Izzy bit her bottom lip and shrugged helplessly. “He said he’s busy.”

Alec sighed, went to the dining room and came back with a chair on which he stood in order to reach the fire alarm. With a well-placed hit the alarm died. 

“Help me clean up this mess before our parents come home,” he said while climbing off the chair again. But as soon as he had finished the sentence he could hear a key being turned in the lock of the front door. 

Alec felt like a bunny, trapped by a car light. His mind seemed to race a hundred miles per hour, desperately looking for an excuse or a way out but he knew there was none.  
He knew they both would be in trouble, not only Isabelle. She was his responsibility. It was his duty to watch out for her but instead he had let her ruin a perfectly good pan and flood the perfectly good kitchen floor. 

Still, Izzy would get the greater punishment. She had been the one to cause all this mess and there was a part of Alec that thought that she deserved to get in trouble for it. But Maryse’ punishments rarely ever fit the crime and Alec already knew what the sentence would be. 

Isabelle had been talking about it for weeks now. Non-stop she had been bubbling about it, planning her outfit, her make-up, her hair. There had been flyers all over the school for months, announcing what was supposed to be the event of the year for every high-schooler. 

The Halloween party. 

Izzy would be devastated if she were forbidden to go. Alec couldn’t let that happen. He never could see his little sister be sad for too long. 

Maryse Lightwood’s low heel-shoes clapped determined onto the wooden floor and announced her confident steps coming down the hall, closer to the kitchen. With every clap Alec could feel his heart sink a little more. 

And then she was there.

Dressed in a grey pencil skirt and a white blouse with a fitting blazer, Maryse Lightwood looked as professional as always. When she saw the mess that her kitchen was her eyes widened for a second almost comically but soon she had herself back under control and her face returned to the same cool mask as always. When she spoke her voice was calm but cold and carried a threat with it that was so subtle that it could have easily gone unnoticed. But not to the Lightwood children; to them it was so very obvious that is almost tasted bitter.

“Alec, Isabelle. What happened in here?”

“It was me, mother.” Alec’s answer had come so quick that Izzy hadn’t even had time to react.

Maryse raised an eyebrow questioningly. “You?”

“Yes. I was trying to make pancakes and thought I could leave the pan unattended for a second while I went to get my chemistry textbook. I wanted to do some reading while keeping an eye on the food because I have a test tomorrow. But then I got distracted and the pancakes burnt and the fire alarm went off. Izzy was just trying to help me but it was already too late. I apologize; I should have been more attentive.”

“Is that true?” Maryse’ look probably could have cut steel but Alec stayed strong. 

“No, it was my fault!” Isabelle chimed in but her brother cut her off immediately:

“No, it wasn’t. I appreciate that you want to cover up for me, Iz, but don’t. I did this and now I need to live with the consequences.”

His eyes never left their mother, whose expression was wary but finally she seemed to believe him.

“I am very disappointed in you, Alec. You will clean this mess up this instant. Furthermore you are grounded for the next three months. I wish to never see this happening again.” And with those words she disappeared again, making her way to her room. Probably to do some work. 

Alec let out a relieved sigh. _That could have gone worse_ , he thought. Isabelle didn’t seem to think so. A deep frown had appeared on her forehead.

“You shouldn’t have done that,” she stated.

“And what? Let her ground you? Next week is the Halloween party; I know you’ve been planning this night for months. I won’t let our mother ruin it just because you cannot cook for the love of God.”

“And what about you? Now you can’t go to the party!” Izzy seemed genuinely upset. How serious she was about the matter Alec noticed amongst other especially because she didn’t even try to object to the critic of her cooking skills.

“I know, but I don’t like events like that anyway. Too many people,” he tried to make her feel better.

“But-“

“And now you won’t have to put up with me the whole night. You can go with a proper date. I know you’ve been thinking about asking Meliorn.”

“No, Alec, stop saying things like that! You know I love spending time with you!” A small furrow had appeared between her eyebrows. It always did when she thought he spoke too lowly about himself. It made her look simultaneously angry and worried.

“Yeah, at home. But I’m not exactly fun at parties. You’ll be better off without me there.”

“And what about Operation Malec?” she started another try.

“What about it?”

“It’s ruined! The whole plan demolished!”

“What are you talking about? What plan?”

“The plan about you asking Magnus if he wants to be your date for that night?” Isabelle looked like she couldn’t believe that he had already forgotten about it.

Alec was taken aback. “What?! Izzy, you didn’t tell me anything about that!”

His sister shrugged. “I thought it was obvious.”

“It wasn’t. Not to me, at least.”

“Well, now you know. But it’s of no use because now you won’t be able to go because you’re grounded!”

“A simple ‘thank you’ would be enough. You were the one to flood the kitchen.”

At first Izzy looked like she was about to argue again but then she settled for a defeated sigh. “Yeah, I’m sorry. This is all entirely my fault.”

Alec’s expression softened. “It’s okay. C’mon, help me clean this up, and then I can make you some new pancakes.”

“Nah, I don’t think I can ever eat those delicious golden pieces of wickedness again. The fact that they prevented you from a romantic night with your glittery future husband kind  
of damaged me forever.”

Eventually Alec ended up making some anyway and after struggling some time due to her inner conflict, Isabelle ate five.

-

To be honest, Alec should have known better. After having grown up with Izzy under the same roof he should have known that a simple order from Maryse was not enough to stop the unruly force that his sister was. 

Still, he was startled when he came home, two days after the incident, and found his room in complete darkness.

He tried to turn on the light but it didn’t work.

“Please close the door.”

With a bit of effort Alec could make out a silhouette sitting on his chair. “Izzy? What the hell?”

“Do as you are told.” 

Alec frowned but obeyed and he could see the weak glim of her white teeth as she smiled.

“Take a seat.”

Awkwardly he started walking, his hand in front of him, searching for possible obstacles he could run into. “I can’t see a thing, Iz, how am I supposed to find-“ Alec hissed when his foot hit something wooden. It was a chair. 

He sat down.

“I think you know why I ordered you in here?”

“You didn’t order me anywhere. This is my room, remember?”

“Not important. Important is only the mission. Are you ready?” 

The tone of her voice made Alec wary. “For what?”

Izzy dramatically switched on the lamp on his desk and Alec squinted, trying to shield his eyes from the sudden light.

“Operation Malec.”

Now he could see that his sister had laid out on his desk what looked like a detailed construction of a plan, like the ones that usually only existed in bad crime movies. 

A suspicion sprouted in him. “Did you take out my light bulbs to make this moment more dramatic?”

“Please focus on the task at hand, Alec. What you can see here is the result of a two days’ work. Please appreciate it.”

“Appreciated,” he said in a deadpan voice.

“Thank you. Now that that’s settled, I would like to demonstrate you how we are going to let you meet your glittery future husband on the Halloween party.”

“Would you please stop calling him that?”

“No.”

Alec sighed. “Okay, what do we do?”

Izzy beamed and immediately hurried to explain her plan to him. “Okay, so the biggest problem will be our parents. You can’t leave the house because you’re grounded and you  
can’t sneak out while they’re still here because they will catch you. Believe me, I’ve tried. There is no way. So what we are going to do is we’re sending our parents away for the night.”

“And how do you want to accomplish that?”

“We, Alec, how do _we_ want to accomplish that,” Izzy insisted.

Alec could barely keep himself from rolling his eyes. “Alright, how do we want to accomplish that?”

“We will set up a business meeting with them,” she stated simply.

“Care to elaborate on that?” Alec asked trying to sound annoyed that he had to pry for every tiny piece of information but failing because he was starting to get actually interested  
in his sister’s schemes.

“As you may know, our parents are currently trying to get Valentine Morgenstern to sign some boring contract that’s somehow very important. And as it happens that very Valentine Morgenstern is the father of Simon’s best friend.” Izzy looked more than pleased with her discovery.

Alec frowned. “Who’s Simon?”

His sister’s smile faltered. “Seriously, Alec? Simon Lewis? You’ve met him. He’s been at our house multiple times. Brown curls, glasses? Used to have a crush on me?”

He shrugged helplessly, still not knowing of whom she was talking about.

She sighed. “He talks a lot.”

Somewhere in Alec’s brain it made _click_ and an image appeared in front of his eyes. “Ah, now I remember!” He frowned again. “He is annoying.”

“No, he’s not, he’s adorable. It doesn’t matter, back to the plan. I’ve already looked into Mom’s calendar and they have a meeting with Valentine Morgenstern next week. Sadly two days before the party but – and this is the genius part – I will persuade Simon to hack into Morgenstern’s mail account and send a mail to our mother, asking her to postpone the meeting to the night of the party.”

“How does he want to accomplish that?”

“His best friend happens to be Valentine’s daughter, which is how he got all the data he needs about him. And in case you don’t remember: Simon is the ultimate computer genius.”

Alec still wasn’t convinced. “And you don’t think they’ll notice when Valentine doesn’t show up because he still thinks that their meeting is set for two days later?”

“Of course not, silly.” Isabelle gently shook her head. “He too will receive a mail from our parents, well, actually from Simon, asking him to reschedule. Mom’s calendar says they’re free that night. And from what Clary says, so is Valentine.”

“Who’s Clary?” Alec asked confused.

“His daughter,” Izzy explained.

“Wait, isn’t she that tiny redhead?”

Izzy was startled. “You know her?”

“No, only ever saw her in school from afar.”

His sister shot him a glare. “Her you remember even though you’ve never even talked to her and Simon who’s been visiting us for years now you don’t?”

Alec shrugged. “Jace has been talking about her non-stop ever since they’re in the same math class. It’s annoying as hell.”

“Wait, she’s the one he’s been crushing on so hard?” Izzy asked, an amused smirk blossoming on her lips.

“I think so, yeah.”

“I can’t blame him. She’s hot.” Alec could practically see how an idea formed itself in her head. She opened a new page in her notebook and hectically scribbled something down.

“Seriously? Jace and Clary as well? Isn’t one operation at a time enough?”

“I can handle it. Besides, what kind of sister would I be if I’d put my one brother’s need for love over my other brother’s need for love? Although, don’t get me wrong: You  
definitely need it more than Jace. Doesn’t matter, we’re getting distracted again.” With a snap she closed her notebook again. “Simon will not only hack into Valentine’s account but also into Mom’s and delete the other one’s answer before they can read it.”

“Yeah, but that is only if everything goes according to plan. If not, we are both doomed and you will be grounded as well,” Alec reminded her. As he continued speaking his voice got soft. “We can’t risk that, Izzy. If you can’t go to the party because of this then everything will have been for nothing.”

“It will work. I trust Simon with this.” She said those words with so much determination that her brother didn’t argue about it any longer. Instead he focused on another one of his worries:

“And what if they mention the rescheduling at the meeting? Then our parents will know what’s up.”

“But they won’t come to get us. You know them, the meeting is too important; they can’t cancel it while being right in the middle of it. Maybe all hell will break lose as soon as they get home but at least you’d be at the party.”

Alec ran a hand through his hair in frustration about Izzy’s stubbornness. “Why is that so important to you?”

“Because you’re always so lonely, Alec. And I don’t want that, I want you to be happy.” Her expression showed sincere worry as she leaned forward to take his hand and squeeze it a little.

Alec squeezed back. “I’m not lonely, I’ve got you, and Jace and Max.”

“Of course you have us and that won’t ever change. But it’s not the same. I know that your crush on Magnus probably goes back to your Freshman year and I also know that you never, not once, made a move on him. So this night will clear the table. Either he’s interested and you will be happily in love forever and ever and play the suburban dads with three wonderful children and throw a barbecue every other week or he’s not and you can finally stop pining. Don’t you want to know?”

Actually Alec didn’t want to know. He was very much content with living in this fantasy world and imagining what it would be like to kiss Magnus Bane. It was safe. In his dreams Magnus Bane always liked kissing him as much as Alec liked it. But reality never mirrored his dreams.

Alec had been imagining for such a long time now that he had the feeling that whatever would happen only could disappoint him. The most likely response he would get was a refusal. What could Magnus Bane possibly find attractive about him? Alec was so different from everything the other boy liked. He was not glittery or shiny. He was neither bold nor beautiful. Not in the way his siblings were. 

Alec didn’t know if he could handle being dumped. 

But Izzy had a point. He’d been pining for so long now. There was a part of him that finally wanted clarity. A part that was at least a tiny bit hopeful. 

“Let me do this for you,” his sister pledged. 

And before he had even realized what decision he had made, he found himself nodding in defeat. “Okay.”

Izzy smiled. “Good, I’ll call Simon.”

-

Alec had known that Simon Lewis talked a lot. He had just forgotten how much. 

“Really, Izzy, it’s no problem. We’re friends. Friends do each other favors. That’s how it works,” he babbled when Izzy had thanked him again for helping them. “Although I must say that I am a little curious as to why you want your parents and Clary’s Dad to meet that night. Because I thought you’d be at that party that the school gives, that Halloween-thing, and then it wouldn’t really matter if they’d be at home or not because you wouldn’t be there. Except of course you will but I thought you were really looking forward to it?”

Izzy grinned fondly and sat down on the bed. They were in Simon’s room. Simon was sitting at his desk, his chair turned into the opposite direction so that he could look at her while talking. Alec was leaning against his wardrobe, his arms crossed.

“Actually, it’s not for me. Alec got grounded, so he can’t go to the party. We want our parents away so he can sneak out and have some fun,” Izzy explained. 

Simon raised his eyebrows in surprise. “ _You_ got grounded? I thought you were the perfect son! What did you do to manage that?”

Alec gave him a deadpan look. “I didn’t bury the last body properly.” 

Simon gulped but Izzy just rolled her eyes. “He covered up for me when I accidentally set the kitchen on fire.”

Simon’s shoulders sacked down in relief, almost unnoticeable. He gently shook his head. “Isabelle, Isabelle, won’t you ever learn not to set foot into a kitchen?”

“I’m not _that_ bad!” Izzy defended herself.

“You set a kitchen on fire,” Simon reminded her.

“Yeah, but it wasn’t really my fault! The pan was defect.”

“The pan was defect,” the boy with the glasses repeated in disbelief.

Isabelle shrugged helplessly and they decided to drop the topic.

Instead Simon turned to Alec. “Why are you so eager to go to the party? There are people there. I thought you hate people.”

Because Alec didn’t really feel the need to answer that question, Isabelle did. 

“Alec has a date.”

At the same time as Simon’s face lit up in both surprise and delight, Alec shot his sister a glare that would have made anyone less confident crumble in regret.

“Are you serious?! With whom?”

“No one,” Alec said at the same time as Izzy said: “Magnus Bane.”

“Magnus Bane?! I know him; he’s good friends with Clary. He’s a funny guy, always acts like he doesn’t know my name. Hadn’t thought he’d be your type, though; with all the  
glitter and drama and socializing and stuff. It doesn’t really fit your dark and brooding aura.” He probably would have kept talking but Alec interrupted him.

“Are you sure he only pretends not to know your name?”

Simon chuckled but it was a nervous chuckle. A sound deeply satisfying for Alec. 

“Don’t be mean, Alec,” Izzy chastised him. “Actually, he doesn’t have a real date with him. Well, none Magnus knows of. But that’s what I want to change, so I thought it would be fun to get them together at the party.”

“And Isabelle Lightwood always gets what she wants.” Simon shot her a bright grin that she returned.

“Alright, guys, let’s do this.” And with those words Simon pulled his chair around again and started typing on his laptop.

-

The rest of the day Alec spent being nervous. If he would have had the habit of biting his nails, they would have been chewed to the very bottom by now. Fortunately that was not the case. Instead it was not his nails but his sweater that had to suffer, because Alec kept playing with the hems of it until the fabric frayed even though Izzy permanently told him to stop.

“It will work, Alec. Trust me.”

And of course he trusted her. He always did. But he also trusted his parent’s ability to prevent all of their children’s shenanigans from happening.

They were sitting at the kitchen table. Izzy was balancing some pudding on her spoon before it quickly disappeared into her mouth. 

Alec couldn’t eat anything. His stomach seemed to be twisted and turned. Maybe he was getting sick…?

That moment Jace came swaggering in.

“What are you doing?” he asked and immediately grinned when he saw what Izzy was eating. 

He walked into the kitchen and returned with another spoon in his hand. Ignoring Izzy’s protest he dug it into her pudding and took out a big load which he swallowed with an  
almost mischievous amount of satisfaction on his face.

“Why so serious?” he frowned when he saw Alec’s anxious face.

Before either of them could answer, another voice interrupted. Maryse Lightwood stood in the doorway. As always she looked all business.

“Alec, Isabelle, Jace, the night of your school event your father and I will be away; an important meeting. We expect you to behave properly and to hold the Lightwood name in  
honor. Isabelle, Jace, for you that means that I do not want to receive any phone calls telling me you’re drunk somewhere. Alec, for you that means you will not leave the house, understood? We will only be away till one am.”

The children all nodded respectfully and their mother left as suddenly as she had come.

“Told you it would work,” Isabelle sung with a smug smile on her face.

Alec rolled his eyes but couldn’t keep his lips from twitching suspiciously as he let out a relieved breath.

“What the fuck is going on?” Jace asked confused.

He had asked Alec but the dark-haired boy just waved the question away, not in the mood to explain everything really, and actually letting out a small laugh. 

When Jace looked at Isabelle she just gently shook her head, a sign that she would tell him later.

-

Now that the plan was settled Alec found himself in the uncomfortable position of not being able to do anything. Back when he had lived believing that he wouldn’t attend the party he had been living on his life like he always had. When Izzy then had given him hope he had filled every minute working on or worrying about their plan. But now that the worst was over Alec was left with nothing.

Although the knowledge of having the worst behind gave him a feeling of security, the nothingness filled him with anxious thoughts about what could still happen.

Izzy wasn’t much help either. She was always out or locked away in her room, saying she was working on something for the party. Alec didn’t have the slightest clue what that  
could be but he didn’t want to annoy her by prying. Not after everything she’d done for him. 

However, that meant that two days before the party Alec found himself sitting alone in the cafeteria because Izzy was yet again away to do whatever the hell she was doing all this  
time and Jace had football training.

Usually Alec didn’t mind sitting alone. He either ate in silence or listened to some music but most times he read while slowly chewing his sandwich or what else the cafeteria offered that didn’t promise immediate food poisoning.

Today was no exception.

He was already well into the book when he finished eating and, as always, he picked up the tray and balanced it on one hand. Not bothering to stop reading he just held the novel in his other on his way to the exit. He had done this many times by now and his insane height and dark and brooding aura had always made people sidestepping him and prevented any collusion. 

Which is why he didn’t worry all too much about his way, his eyes glued to the lines of his book. 

That was until he whole bodily crashed into something.

There was a loud clash, Alec cursed; his tray went flying to the floor while he just so managed to keep his balance, clinging onto his book, so it wouldn’t hit the ground and make the pages crumble. 

Frowning, Alec looked around to see what had caused the crash when he saw someone lying on the floor and realized that it was rather some _one_ than some _thing_. 

Murmuring another curse he immediately knelt down to help up whoever he had sent down and saw that the food that the person had been carrying on a tray hadn’t survived the crash either. Fries and lettuce leaves were all over the place, just like some vegetables. 

Repressing a third curse he went to throw all the food back on the tray. Now it was unenjoyable anyway.

“I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to push you, I’m sorry, I really am. I’ll pay for the food, I promise. I was so busy reading I didn’t even see you coming,” Alec rambled while sweeping the last lettuce leaf from the floor and stacking the trays.

“Don’t worry about it, darling. It’s not like anyone got hurt.” 

Alec froze. He knew that voice. Not from any actual conversation he had had but rather from the aisle in their school where it had laughed loudly and shamelessly with its friends.  
Or from when it had bewitched the teachers with witty and kind comments. 

Oh yes, he knew that voice. 

Timidly Alec looked up and into a set of warm brown eyes.

“Uh,” he announced eloquently, his brain apparently having gone into some kind of shock.

The perfectly plucked eyebrows above the two beautiful brown eyes furrowed in worry.

“Are you alright?”

“Yes! I– I’m good, thanks.” Alec could feel his face heat up from embarrassment. Quickly he got up, set the trays aside and lent Magnus Bane his hand.

The boy gladly accepted it and, once on his feet, lazily wiped any possible traces of dust off the bottoms of his pants. 

“Oh my, that was quite a crash, wasn’t it? What were you reading?” 

Alec didn’t really know how to react. He didn’t understand why Magnus Bane was still talking to him after Alec had run him over. He didn’t understand why the boy was talking to him in the first place!

Instead of giving an answer he just handed him the novel.

“ _Frankenstein_ ,” he read the title out loud. “Must be pretty good considering how enthralled you were.”

The words could have been reproachful but they didn’t sound like it. It almost seemed like the boy wanted to tease Alec. Why was beyond the Lightwood. In his conception the other one should have left Alec standing alone at least twenty words ago. 

So he did what made sense to him. He reached into his pocket, took a twenty dollar bill out, almost shoved it into Magnus Bane’s hand and murmured one last “Sorry about your lunch” before making a hasty exit. 

It wasn’t until his literature class that he noticed that he had left his book behind.

-

“I fucked up, Iz. We need to cancel everything. I can’t go to the party.”

“Wait, what?” 

Isabelle and Jace were sitting in the living room and had been watching TV when Alec had entered. Now Izzy grabbed the remote and turned the TV off. 

“You can’t cancel!” she protested. “I spent the last few days perfecting our outfits for that night! I put my whole heart into it and you will wear it, Alec. No dodging out now.”

“So that’s what you’ve been doing all that time,” he huffed. He should have thought of that.

“Of course, what did you think?”

Alec shrugged helplessly and Izzy sighed.

That moment Jace intervened. “What did you fuck up so badly anyway?”

The eldest groaned in memory of what had happened that day and sat down next to his siblings. 

“I ran into Magnus Bane today,” he confessed.

“What?!” This times Jace and Isabelle had spoken simultaneously. 

“I was returning my tray in the cafeteria today and I literally ran into him. I wasn’t paying attention and we crashed into each other and he fell and his food was all over the floor. It was a disaster.” Alec buried his face in his hands. “Please just kill me.”

His sister soothingly stroked his back in an attempt to calm him down a bit. “What happened then?”

“I thought he would snap at me or something but he was being all nice which made it somehow worse because I didn’t know what to say! I just kind of picked everything off the  
floor and helped him up. Then I gave him my book and twenty dollars for his lunch and left; without saying anything.”

“You gave him your book?” Izzy tried her best to keep the laughter out of her voice but failed miserably.

“I was reading when I returned my tray. That’s why I crashed into him. He wanted to know the name of the novel so I kind of just gave it to him and forgot to ask back for it.”

Jace broke out in full laughter while Isabelle still tried to stop herself from grinning, for her brother’s sake.

“And you gave him, what? Twenty dollars for his lunch?” Jace asked, still laughing.

Alec nodded, his face burning up from shame. Jace’s laugh increased and now even Izzy couldn’t hold back any longer.

“Man, I wish you had a crush on me then I’d never be broke again!” the blonde wheezed.

Alec rolled his eyes. Two years ago that comment would have stung badly but now it did nothing to him. Back then he had had the worst crush on his adoptive brother. It had come when he had just been about to figure out his sexuality and the pining had been agonizing; especially because he knew that Jace would never have anything else than brotherly feelings towards him. But then he had met Magnus Bane and the glittery boy had slowly crept up to him and made himself a home in Alec’s heart without even knowing it. Alec hadn’t noticed until it was too late and by now his crush on Jace had neglected itself completely.

It almost appeared like Alec had the habit of always picking people that were unreachable to him and pining after them with every fiber of his being.  
Alec had never known how to love little. How not to yearn with everything he had. Sometimes he thought that this was one of his worst flaws.

-

The struggles didn’t end there. Alec knew that Isabelle hoped he would somehow find the courage to ask Magnus properly to be his date for the party but after the incident in the cafeteria that was unthinkable. Not that it hadn’t been before. However, Izzy had told him that Magnus Bane would attend the party without company. How she knew that was beyond Alec, but he guessed she had her sources. 

All he had to do now was to walk up to the boy at the party and start a conversation. Easier said than done, if you asked Alec. But no one ever did that. 

Isabelle predicted that it would be less difficult when he was wearing a costume because it would give him a little anonymity, like an armor. 

Alec had his doubts, yet he usually did.

But now another problem occurred and to no one’s surprise it was presented to them by Maryse Lightwood.

“Since you will be at home at the night of the meeting you will be able to take care of Max, which is why I didn’t call the babysitter. That’s not a problem, is it?”

Well, that was most certainly not a question.

“No, of course not, mother.”

Maryse seemed pleased with that answer but Izzy apparently wasn’t.

“Mom, Max is almost thirteen by now. Do you really think he’s still in need of a babysitter?”

“I am his mother and I will decide what is best for him, Isabelle. And it doesn’t matter now anyway because I already said that I did not call the babysitter. Alec will be home that  
night so he can keep an eye on his brother. Now eat your dinner before it gets cold.”

Alec felt bad. Not because he did not think Max capable of spending a night on his own but because he hadn’t even thought of him at all. How could he have forgotten his own little brother?

And could he really leave him alone for that night? He knew that it wasn’t for the _whole_ night and Max was old enough to handle himself for a few hours by now but  
still… if anything would happen to him it would be Alec’s fault. Alec didn’t know if he could live with the knowledge that his brother had gotten hurt because of him. 

Maybe it was better to just not go to the party. It was a silly idea anyway. He would never find the courage to actually talk to Magnus Bane and even if he did the other boy  
wouldn’t be interested. No, he should just stay and take care of Max like a responsible older brother.

As if Izzy had read his mind she caught him after dinner before he could disappear into his room.

“You’re not thinking about bailing out now, are you? Our brother is almost thirteen and he’s been on his own before. Mom just wants to put pressure on you to make sure that you  
stay home.”

Alec played with the hems of his shirt. “Iz, this is Max. I can’t leave him. If something happens to him…”

“Alright, alright, I get it.” She bit her bottom lip. “I’ll think of something.”

Alec didn’t have high hopes.

Isabelle was a genius but she only had one day left. And maybe he was starting to get a little cynical. After all, what were the odds that Izzy’s little plan would actually work out?

-

When Alec woke up the next day his throat felt sore. He coughed a few times but the feeling didn’t go away.

“Shit,” he cursed and moaned in desperation when he heard his own voice. He sounded like a Sam Elliot knock-off. Now really wasn’t the time to get a cold.

He got dressed and went to the kitchen. On school days it was always only him and his siblings at the breakfast table because his parents were already at work when their children  
got up. And because Isabelle and Jace liked to sleep in it was usually him who set the table and prepared everything. Sometimes Max joined him, just like he did today.

“Morning, Max,” Alec greeted him, going for the coffee machine and clicking the button to get himself a mug of delicious black caffeine.

“Man, your voice sounds weird. Do you have a cold?” Max responded, not bothering with formalities such as wishing ‘Good Mornings’. Alec took a sip and grimaced when he  
burned his tongue. “Seems like I’m about to get one. Would you be so good and set the table, please?” Alec went to the fridge and reached into it to retrieve some eggs and a  
package of bacon while Max went to get the plates out of the cupboard.

“Sucks! Today of all days… hey, but you’re still going to the party, aren’t you?” Alec had no idea how his brother had found out about their plan but he wasn’t surprised either. Max had always had his way in finding out what was going on around the house. Alec simply shrugged, not bothering with a real answer. He’d never been a talkative person but it was worst in the mornings.

“Okay, now that I think about it you don’t really have a choice here,” Max kept talking. “Izzy won’t care that you sound like a terrible copy of Sam Elliot. She’ll still drag you to that Halloween-thing. And if you refuse she’ll just rip out your throat and feed it to the dog.”

Alec frowned. “We don’t have a dog.”

“She’d get one.” He probably was right. Max went to the dining room and distributed the plates while Alec got a pan out of the cupboard and set it on the stove, turning on the heat.

“She could also feed it to Church,” the elder one suggested, pouring a little bit of oil into the pan.

Max seemed offended. “Alec! Do you really trust our cat to have so little taste?”

Alec rolled his eyes and in this moment Isabelle entered the kitchen, still dressed in her pajamas. She yawned and stretched before mumbling: “What did the cat do again?” Still sleep-drunken she fetched herself a mug and went for the coffee-machine.

“Nothing,” Max replied. “Alec is getting a cold and I said that if he skipped the party tonight because he’s getting sick you would simply rip out his throat and feed it to a dog. So then he suggested that you could also give it to Church but Church has much too fine taste to eat someone like Alec.”

Izzy added some milk and sugar to her coffee. “Max, your cat licks soap. Don’t pretend like your pet actually cares about what it puts into its mouth.” And then, after her sleepy brain had finally caught up with her little brother’s words: “You are getting what?!” Isabelle looked at Alec, shock in her widened eyes. She had poured some coffee on her shirt but either she didn’t mind or she hadn’t noticed. In a second she was next to Alec and holding a hand against his forehead. “Feels normal to me,” she mumbled and Alec snapped her hand away.

“Of course it’s normal. It’s nothing, just a sore throat,” he tried to pacify her.

“I can hear that. Sounds kind of sexy, though. Like Benedict Cumberbatch.” She smirked.

“Who?” Alec asked.

Izzy’s smile faltered. “I swear by the angel, Alec, you need to get out more,” she sighed and went on to sip her coffee.

“Doesn’t matter anyway, because he doesn’t sound like Cumberbatch,” Max interfered. “More like Sam Elliot, if Sam Elliot were a bad chain-smoker.”

Isabelle frowned. “That’s not true; it’s not that bad.”

Alec had decided to ignore them and make eggs sunny-side up when Jace entered.

“Morning, guys,” he greeted and let out a yawn so big that one could see to the back of his throat, not caring to cover his mouth. He too went directly for the coffee machine. 

“Alec has a cold,” Izzy announced immediately.

“Really? Aw, man, sucks!” Jace shot him a sympathetic smile.

“I do not have a cold, just a sore throat!” Alec insisted.

“Wow, yeah, I can hear that! You sound like you’re trying to imitate Sam Elliot but failing terribly.”

“Jace!” Izzy punched him in the arm while Max erupted into laughter and Alec put his thumb and pointer finger against the bridge of his nose, closing his eyes.

Jace seemed confused by the reaction of his siblings. “What?”

Nobody answered, only Max laughed even louder.

-

“Luke Garroway.”

“What?” Alec’s voice was still rougher and deeper than usual, no matter how many cough drops he sucked. He had been sitting at his homework when Isabelle had come bursting in. She now went straight to his bed and sat down.

“The name of the solution to our problem: Luke Garroway. He will play babysitter for Max. We just need to leave him with Luke before we drive off to the party and then pick him up on our way back again.”

“Izzy, I will not leave our little brother alone with a total stranger!” Alec looked at his sister like she was out of her mind but she just sighed like he was being exceptionally slow that moment.

“He’s not a stranger. You know him. He’s a chief. He and Hodge are good friends, remember?”

Something in Alec’s brain sparked. “Yes, I remember. But how did you manage to get a hold on him?”

“He’s Clary’s step dad,” Isabelle explained with a shrug.

“That Clary-girl seems to be known by all of my friends and family…” Alec murmured but Izzy ignored him.

“Max knows him. He’ll be delighted that he’s allowed to be with Luke that night. You better talk with him and make sure that he won’t say anything to our parents. Max will listen to you. I already had a chat with Luke and he assured me that it won’t be a problem and that he’s happy to get to spend some time with Max.”

Isabelle shot him a smirk and Alec had to admit that he was impressed. She really was good.

“Alright, I trust you,” he said in defeat.

-

Although it was the day of the party it hadn’t been any different from other days, apart from him getting a cold. Alec had gotten up and gone to school and gotten home and done his homework and then talked to Isabelle. Then he had read a little and it hadn’t felt any different. He hadn’t been nervous, not one bit. 

Until half past six when his parents came into his room and said: “We will leave now and be back at one AM. Take care of your brother.”  
Alec nodded and they left again. He could hear how the front door fell closed and somehow the sound brought all his worries and anxieties back. Only a second later his sister burst yet again into his room, giving him no time to panic.

“Alright, big brother, move. We only have little time to get you dressed up so you will have no right to negotiate and certainly not to veto any of my decisions.”  
She herself looked stunning. She had braided her hair to the side and put on a silver laurel wreath. She was dressed in a white toga with silver embroideries that was draped artistically around her body in a way that showed off some of her leg to the side.

Alec had always found it hard to tell if someone wore makeup or not, mostly because he didn’t care, but he noticed that she put some kind of silver powder around her eyes.

“Goddess Diana?” he guessed, spotting a knife attached to her hip.

“Artemis. I prefer the Greek version.” 

He nodded. “You look beautiful.” And she did. Alec didn’t know how but somehow seeing his sister looking so pretty made him feel better. Even if their plan failed and he’d get dumped, she would have a good night. He’d make sure of that.

Isabelle smiled. “Thank you. But now get up. You can’t go to the party in those clothes and I found the perfect costume for you.”

Alec frowned. “What’s wrong with my clothes?”

“Don’t make me go down that road. Let me just say: Basically everything. And it’s a _Halloween_ party, Alec. You know what that means, right?”

He huffed. “Of course I know what that means. But it’s not like everyone will show up in a costume, anyway. Probably most people won’t.”

“No, actually most people will. And even if they don’t, you will. C’mon, time is short.”

She snapped her fingers at him, turned on her heel and rushed out of the door. 

Her brother followed her with a sigh.

 

The fabric lying on Izzy’s bed, that Alec guessed to be his costume, was black; which was reassuring. 

“Lose your clothes,” Isabelle ordered and her brother obeyed quickly until he stood in only his underwear. Somehow self-conscious about his body he awkwardly crossed his arms in front of his chest and waited for Izzy to give him his clothes. 

The first item she handed him was a pair of black jeans that didn’t look much different than those he wore almost every day to school. Only when he put them on he noticed what was wrong with them.

“Izzy, I think they’re too small,” he complained, stiffly trying to get them into a more comfortable fit.

“No, they’re not. They’re supposed to fit that tight; brings out your ass.”

Alec blushed but didn’t argue.

The next item was a black and white striped shirt with short sleeves. It looked harmless enough so Alec put it on. It fit quite comfortably. 

“Now sit down on that chair while I’ll do your makeup.”

“Iz, no, please. I don’t think I feel comfortable with paint in my face. I’m not like you or…” _Magnus Bane_ , he thought but didn’t say out loud. “I can’t pull it off like you do.”

“In case you already forgot you don’t have a veto right. Just trust me on this one, _mi hermano_.”

Although frowning in worry he still nodded and sat down.

“Close your eyes.” 

Alec did as he was told and the next thing he could feel was a sponge stroking over his eyelids. 

“Thank the angel, you didn’t shave today. Of course it would be ideal if you hadn’t shaved yesterday as well but I guess that’s my fault because I forgot to tell you not to. But it’s not too bad, you grow a beard pretty fast,” Isabelle chattered and Alec knew that she was trying to distract him and keeping him from getting nervous. He appreciated her efforts. 

“Alright, the makeup is done so you can stand up, but don’t open your eyes yet. I want you to look into the mirror when you’re completely done so that you can see the full genius of my work at once.”

Alec stood and would have liked to roll his eyes at her but he was told to keep them closed and he would most certainly not tempt Izzy’s anger. He wasn’t suicidal. 

He could feel how his sister put a hat on his head and arranged it until it sat how she wanted it to sit. Then she commanded him to stretch his arms to the side and slid a jacket on him. Or maybe it was more like a coat? However, it was made out of a smooth material. Alec had no idea what it was called but he liked running his hand over it. It calmed him.

“Wait, I almost forgot your boots! I’ll be back in a sec!”

Alec could hear her hurrying out of the room.

“Don’t open your eyes!” she called one last time. Her voice sounded a little farther away. She probably was already in the hallway. He could hear her return and soon he could also feel his left foot being lifted and the familiar sensation of old leather as she tucked his foot into his boot. 

“Izzy, I can put on my shoes myself. I’m just that old by now,” Alec protested.

“But then you’d have to open your eyes,” she argued, “and I won’t let that happen. Sit back down or else you’ll lose your balance.”

And so Alec sat on the chair in his sister’s room and got his boots put on and tied like a six-year-old. 

“I think we’re done.”

“Can I open my eyes now?”

“Another second please.”

Isabelle took both of his hands and helped him getting up. When she had him right in front of her giant mirror she said: “Now you can open them.”

Now that he had the permission Alec suddenly wasn’t too eager to see what he looked like. Hesitatingly he tried to peak through his eye lashes and then blinked a few times and when he finally saw his whole reflection his mouth fell wide open in shock.

“I look like a raccoon.”

“No you don’t! You look…” she gave him a once over, “Yes, you look like a raccoon.” 

He looked indeed like a raccoon. 

The pants were great, although Alec still wasn’t used to the tight fit. The coat (he could now see that it was more of a coat than a jacket) underlined his broad shoulders and torso. The hat was classy, black with a wide brim and even his shoes flattered the overall look.

The problem was the striped shirt in combination with his black painted eyes. 

“Why did you even paint my eyes, Iz? What happened to the good old-fashioned masks?”

“Alec, if you would watch television once in a while you would know that people no longer wear those masks. You would look like a kid looking like a raccoon. Now you look like The Winter Soldier or Commander Lexa looking like a raccoon,” Isabelle explained.

“Who is Commander Lexa?” Alec frowned.

“Someone very badass and very gay, so you already have a lot in common. Now let me think; how do I fix this raccoon problem?” A little wrinkle appeared between her brows as it always did when she was thinking. Suddenly her eyes lit up. “I think I have an idea!”

She went to the bags that were lying next to her bed and searched a little before she found what she was looking for. Instead of immediately presenting it to him with a proud smile, like Alec had expected her to do, she looked a little shy, almost worried. 

“I thrifted this in that little store I found two days ago. I thought it would go great with your costume but it has a big hole and I haven’t come around to fix it yet, so I thought the striped shirt would do as well. Obviously it doesn’t, so maybe this is the lesser of two evils?”

Isabelle handed him what looked like a white shirt. He unfolded it and saw that it was of a light material with a very low cleavage and wide sleeves but small cuffs. It reminded Alec of what the pirates in the movies often wore. 

When he turned it around he saw what Izzy meant. There was a hole, big enough to look through it and therefore just big enough to be easily noticeable, at the back of it.  
_Still_ , Alec thought, _better than a raccoon_.

So he slipped out of his coat and T-shirt and put the new shirt on. Better. And when he also put his coat back on the hole wasn’t even visible anymore. Isabelle helped him tuck the shirt into his pants and then she turned around and retrieved something from under her bed.

“I thought you might want to carry this with you.”

Alec looked wide-eyed at the thing in her hands. “My bow and arrows?” 

“Well, it is your bow but the arrows are new. We’re not allowed to bring anything sharp or possibly dangerous with us but I bought some children’s arrows at a store and painted them black. They look normal but are actually harmless. You can just clip your quiver to your belt and carry the bow over your shoulder.” Again she bowed down and retrieved a black belt this time. “I know that you’re nervous and I thought having something familiar that usually calms you down might relax you.”

Alec couldn’t help but feel an almost overwhelming rush of love for his sister at that moment. He now also realized that she probably would have dressed him in color but decided against it because she knew that he felt most comfortable in black. 

“Thank you,” he said, meaning it so much and trying to show it. He didn’t know if she had understood but she smiled. 

“Now you look like a proper bandit. Just don’t take your coat off. It might get pretty warm in there but if you take it off the hole will show.”

He nodded and looked one more time into the mirror. He had to admit that he really did look good now. Izzy was right, the stubble on his cheeks helped making him look rougher and darker than he already was. The dark paint around his eyes was underlined by the shadow that the hat cast on his face. The only thing that still bothered him was the low cleavage of the shirt.

Self-consciously he tried to cover his hairy breast a little more. He didn’t like that he grew hair there, had always been a little embarrassed by it; especially because he had grown body hair much earlier than the rest of his classmates as he had often noticed in the locker room. 

“I can give you some necklaces to cover that up if you want me to,” Izzy suggested. But it was clear that she would only do so if he actually felt uncomfortable. He considered her offer but then decided against it. He’d probably feel even more ridiculous with jewelry around his neck. He couldn’t pull it off.

“No, it’s alright.”

“Probably better that way. Or else you’d look like a pirate. And I think you look rather hot with a bit of chest hair showing.”

Alec knew that was not true but he shot her a small smile anyway, for trying.

“Ready to go out there?” Isabelle asked with a playful smirk on her lips.

Alec sighed. “No, not really.” He clenched his fists and tried to relax. Then he grabbed the belt, looped it around his hip and attached the quiver to it. He went to throw his bow over his shoulder but then hesitated. It was pretty big and there would be a lot of people attending the party. The bow was one of his most precious possessions and he didn’t want it to break. Especially because then he’d have to come up with an excuse for his parents as to why his bow was broken.

Carefully he laid the bow back on the table. “I don’t want it to get damaged. The arrows will have to do.” Another look into the mirror. “Let’s do this.”

-

“Guys, I really don’t see why I can’t just stay at home by myself! I’m thirteen, not six!” Max complained but there wasn’t any heat in his voice and Alec knew that he was secretly glad to see Luke again, just adding his protest for good measure.

“Sorry Max,” Jace said with a grin on his face, “but you are and always will be our little baby brother. You won’t spend a single hour on your own till you’re twenty-one.”

Max made a little pout and Isabelle and Jace started laughing. 

They were all sitting in the car on their way to Luke’s. Alec was in the driver’s seat, Izzy had called shotgun and Jace and Max were in the backseats. 

Jace was dressed in a knight’s amour with a red cape wrapped around his shoulders that looked positively pompous. He’d had a wooden sword attached to his belt and now taken it out to poke Max with it, trying to annoy him, which resulted in the two of them arguing until Alec had to interfere. Luckily it wasn’t a long drive, maybe ten minutes, and before they knew they were all standing on the chief’s porch and Isabelle rung the bell.

Shortly after, the front door opened and a good-looking man in his late thirties or early forties appeared on the door step. As he saw the four children a welcoming smile spread on his lips.

“Well, look at you. The Lightwood-Kids, all grown up now.” He shook his head a little in disbelief. “Come in. Clary and Simon are almost ready and should come down any minute.”  
Alec frowned the same second that Jace paled.

“Simon?” the dark-haired asked with a critically raised eyebrow.

“Clary?” the blonde whispered, his cheeks turning a light pink color.

Izzy turned around to her brothers. “Ah, yes, sorry I forgot to mention it. Simon and Clary are coming with us tonight. That’s not a problem, is it?”

She shot them her most innocent smile and Jace let out a tiny “no” while Alec only huffed.

They all went inside and while they were all still standing in the hallway a girl’s voice resounded through the house:

“Simon, just take those ridiculous teeth out! I can’t understand a word you’re saying!”

A few seconds later a tiny red-headed thing appeared on the stairways. She was wearing a white, sleeveless dress that went down to her knees and had a pair of white wings attached to her shoulders, like an angel.

Shortly behind her followed Simon. His costume consisted of a white dress shirt under a black waistcoat, paired with black slacks and black shoes. Just like Jace he too had a cape but his had a wide collar and was black, like most of his costume. He mumbled something but no one understood what he was saying because he was also wearing pointy plastic teeth to complete his Dracula outfit.

“Oh, hey, I didn’t know you were already there!” Clary greeted the group as she spotted them. She immediately walked up to Izzy and hugged her.

“You look beautiful, Iz!” she exclaimed.

“So do you, I love your dress!” Isabelle returned the compliment and for a moment it was only the two girls smiling at each other, until:

“I’m Jace.”

Clary turned around to him, her smile dimming but not disappearing completely. “Yeah, I know. We’re in the same math class.” 

Now Jace was apparently left with nothing else to say, but of course he did not blush for a moment because Jace Wayland never blushed, no way.

Luckily Izzy took the floor again. “Clary, those are my brothers Alec and Max. Alec will be our driver tonight.” 

“Nice meeting you.” Clary smiled and Alec answered with a nod. Behind her Simon waved at him happily but him the Lightwood-boy chose to ignore.

Instead he asked: “Are we ready to go?” eager to leave before any awkwardness could come up.

“Sure, yeah, we’re ready. You ready, Simon?” 

Simon mumbled something utterly incomprehensible.

“I’ll take that as a yes. Let’s go.”

And with quick goodbyes and Luke telling Alec to drive carefully the five kids left.

-

As soon as Alec pulled into the parking spot he could feel his heart pounding loudly in his chest again. During the drive the others had been talking and bickering and successfully distracting him so but now Alec finally realized that there was no going back from where he was heading right now.

This was the night. 

Somewhere in the next one or two hours probably, Alec would know. Know if Magnus Bane would agree to go on a date with him some time or – and that scenario seemed more likely – laugh and walk away. There would be no uncertainty left.

Alec took a deep breath, straightened his back and got out of the car, joining the others that were all standing outside by now.

Even from afar one could already hear the music coming from the gym, where the party was taking place.

“Are you ready?” Isabelle asked him.

He locked the car and nodded, although he really didn’t feel ready at all. His sister seemed to sense so and linked her arm with his, shooting him an encouraging smile.

“Don’t worry, big brother. I’ll have your back.”

And together they made their way to the gym.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's it! I hope you liked it and tomorrow I will be posting the second part of this.  
> I know it's pretty dialogue heavy and of course now that I see it like that I already want to change thousands of things but what do you think? Drop me a comment or tell me on tumblr where I'm @dontblinkamelia.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “My, what a coincidence,” Isabelle purred. “Nothing screams ‘Happy Ending’ more than a dashing fairy tale prince.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Halloween!
> 
> So, this is the second part of my very first Malec fanfiction!  
> I was so overwhelmed with all the positive feedback; I would never have suspected something like that. Thank you so much, all you lovely people! You're all amazing and this means a lot to me.

They were only half an hour late but already the gym was practically bursting from all the people inside. Some were dancing and some were standing around, drinking from red plastic cups. In this case "dancing" meant teenagers rubbing against each other in such an inappropriate way that Alec blushed by the mere sight of it. There also were some awkward loners that moved their heads more or less in the rhythm of the music, trying to look like they were having fun.

Izzy was right, almost everyone had come costumed. Alec could spot ghosts, super heroes and dozens of others that he didn’t recognize. He assumed they were movie characters.

Isabelle, now in her natural habitat, immediately scanned the area, taking everything in.

“Alright, guys, let’s get something to drink first,” she shouted over the loud music.

Alec thought that was probably a good idea, since everyone seemed to be drunk already, although everyone here was a minor. He wondered where the supervising teachers were but then decided that he didn’t want to know. 

Izzy led them all through the crowd with a confident step until they reached the table with the drinks. It was self-service and so she took some red plastic cups and filled them with punch, passing them on to her siblings and friends. When she offered one to Alec he shook his head.

“I still have to drive, Iz. No alcohol for me.”

“Oh, that’s alright. Simon can drive.”

Simon raised his eyebrows, startled. He made a sound like he was asking "Why me?". Only that no one could understand him because he was still wearing his plastic teeth.

“Because you’re the one I trust most not to drink anything on this party; right after Alec here, of course.”

Simon said something that no one could understand. But he was frowning and pointing at Alec, so Izzy interpreted as well as she could.

“Alec needs to loosen up a little, therefore he needs alcohol. After all, this is an important night for him, so he needs our support. That means we all need to make sacrifices,” Isabelle declared, her voice determined.

Simon scowled but crumbled in submission. 

“Izzy, I don’t need any alcohol. I can drive,” Alec insisted.

“No, you can’t. You need this. Doctor’s orders.” His sister remained stubborn, so Alec sighed and turned to Simon.

“Do you have a license?” he asked.

Simon seemed offended by the question. 

Alec didn’t care. “Can I see it?”

Before Simon could respond, Isabelle grabbed her brother by his arm and dragged him with her. Still he kept glaring at the slim boy with the glasses who seemed like he wasn’t sure if he should be miffed or intimidated. In the end he settled on a strange mix between the two.

“Drink up, big brother,” Izzy commanded, finally forcing the cup into his hand. He eyed it warily but then finally took a sip. He grimaced. 

Isabelle laughed openly at his face and cooed: “You’re adorable” which earned her an eye roll. 

“Now let’s see if we can spot your glittery future husband.” She stretched a little, trying to look above the heads of the students. Meanwhile Alec tried his best to do exactly that _not_. He’d rather get a little warning by Izzy on how Magnus Bane was dressed. He wanted to mentally prepare himself.

“There he is!” Isabelle shouted, pointing somewhere near the middle of the dance floor. “He’s dancing with one of his friends, I think. Can’t tell for sure now that everyone’s costumed… Damn, he looks good, Alec.”

Alec scoffed. Of course Magnus Bane looked good. Magnus Bane always looked good.

“As what is he dressed?” he asked.

Isabelle frowned in confusion. But then she turned around to him and saw that his eyes were fixated on the ground. She smiled in sympathy.

“Why don’t you look for yourself?”

Alec was just about to refuse but then he felt childish. A look wouldn’t do any harm, would it?  
It took him a while to find him but when he did his breath hitched in his throat.

Izzy’s comment had been the understatement of the year. Magnus Bane didn’t look good. He looked amazing.

He had dressed himself in a white shirt that was richly decorated with embroideries. Alec couldn’t make out anything specific from the distance but he saw that it had a very low neck line. Also it had flouncy cuffs that peeked out under the hems of his dark red coat. The coat itself was shining with a pattern of golden thread. His black pants were sinfully tight and his dark hair was up in spikes but missed the usual colorful streaks. Instead he had accessorized himself with a single long necklace and a golden ring that ran around his head. It looked like a small crown. 

“My, what a coincidence,” Isabelle purred. “Nothing screams ‘Happy Ending’ more than a dashing fairy tale prince.” 

Alec gulped. “Izzy, I can’t do this.” He didn't think his voice had been audible over the deafening sounds of the music. Still his sister’s expression softened. She must have seen the panic in his eyes.

“I know it’s scary, Alec, but you need to be brave now. If you don’t do this it will only keep getting worse. Sometimes you just got to step out of your comfort zone.”

He nodded, still frightened. Were his hands shaking? He felt like they may.

“Go get him, tiger.” And with those words she pushed him into the general direction of Magnus Bane. Then she disappeared into the crowd herself. 

For a second Alec considered finding a lonely corner and reading his novel. Even though Izzy wouldn’t have approved, he always carried one with him. Old habits die hard, they say. 

But no, he couldn’t hide any longer.

Alec took a deep swig out of his cup. He winced as he remembered that what looked like a fruity bowl was around ninety percent vodka. 

One last breath and – 

Where did he go?

Confused Alec scanned the dance floor with his eyes but no sign of the glittery boy. He didn’t know whether to be disappointed or relieved.

“Is that a gun in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?” cooed a smooth voice into his ear.

Alec could feel a shiver running down his back as he slowly turned around.

What happened after that, Alec couldn’t remember all too clear. 

In front of him stood Magnus Bane in all his glory; drink in his hand and a devilish smirk on his lips. And of course Alec’s brain short-circuited and left him with nothing but a dumbstruck expression on his face. Now, without a brain to think for him, he did what only seemed natural at that point of time.

He frowned. Without taking his eyes off the boy, he took an arrow out of his quiver and held it up for the other one to see. 

“That’s arrows. Not a gun.”

The fairy tale prince blinked, startled by the response but soon an amused smirk spread on his lips. He opened his mouth, ready to give an answer but that very second Alec could feel how something hit the back of his head. Hard.

Alec hissed and immediately raised his hand to the injury. At the same time he turned around to see what had hit him.

He spotted a group of drunken students singing and assumed they had been the ones throwing something at him. When he looked down he saw a slipper, made out of cheap see-through plastic that must have been part of a costume.

“Are you alright?” he heard a worried voice.

Alec, still frowning, rubbed the back of his head and turned his attention back to the boy next to him. Magnus Bane was standing much closer now, his gaze fixed on Alec’s eyes.

“I- uh…” Alec cleared his throat. “Yeah, I’m fine; nothing to worry about.”

“We better get you some ice for that. Wouldn’t want your pretty head to hurt, now would we?” The boy winked at him.

“Uh,” was Alec’s eloquent comment but luckily he didn’t need to say much else. Magnus Bane was already leading him to the bar where Alec had gotten a drink with his friends earlier. Next to the bowl with punch was a cooler. Magnus Bane reached into it and retrieved some ice cubes which he then wrapped into a towel that lay by the side.

“There you go, darling.”

Alec blushed at the pet name. He was just about to take the ice package from the other boy but apparently Magnus Bane had other plans. He shuffled a little closer to place it at Alec’s head himself. Alec was sure his face was about the color of crimson now and hoped the lightning and Izzy’s makeup hid most of it.

“So,” Magnus Bane smiled, not looking like he was about to move away at any moment. (Not that Alec minded. Although it was a little hard to breathe with the other boy so close, but who needed oxygen anyway?) “Do you come here often? I mean- sorry, stupid question. Of course you don’t. It’s not like there’s a Halloween party every weekend now, is it? It’s just that you look awfully familiar.” (Alec was not panicking, fearing that Magnus might recognize him from the cafeteria encounter.) “But I guess that just happens when you go to the same school. You do go to this school, don’t you? Because I think I’ve seen some college boys in here that snuck into the party and you could be one of them, I guess. But you don’t look like it. None of them were wearing costumes and you are; that's what I mean. Not that you couldn't pass as a college boy. You're quite tall. Sorry, I’m rambling. It’s just that you’re stunning, through and through. Usually I’m excellent at this flirting thing but I find it somehow hard to read you. That is making me a little nervous; if I may be so frank. Because I don’t know whether you’re interested or not. Although I couldn’t fathom why you shouldn’t be. But yes, I think I will stop talking now. I'm sorry.”

Alec had listened with a startled expression. Was he getting this right? Magnus Bane, always smooth, ever playful Magnus Bane stood in front of him. And he was chattering like… like a nervous school boy. Like… everyone else. And it was almost ridiculous but this was the first time that Alec realized that Magnus Bane was not an unreachable icon. Neither was he a perfect dream. He was a boy. And just like Alec he also had friends with whom he joked and teased. And he also had a family and all the other stuff that so many people have. And Magnus Bane shifted into this new form that was just Magnus.  
It made Alec breathe easier.

Sensing that he wasn’t about to get a response Magnus shyly tried to withdraw his hand that was still holding the ice package in place. In a moment of bravery Alec caught Magnus’ wrist mid movement and the two of them locked eyes. 

“I- uh” On the inside he cursed his sore throat that still made him sound like Sam Elliot as a chain-smoker. “I am.”

Magnus raised his eyebrows in confusion. “Excuse me?”

“Interested. I am, you know, interested.” 

The other boy’s face cleared and his flirtatious smirk returned. Alec could feel the butterflies in his stomach fluttering in excitement.

The music was still blasting on full volume and everyone around them was dancing, drinking and chattering. Alec could feel his introversion kicking in, being surrounded by so many people. The air was too hot. He would have liked to take off his coat but he remembered the hole in the back of his shirt and decided against it. He needed fresh air.

“Do you maybe want to, I dunno, go outside?”

Magnus’ smirk widened into a smile that showed off his perfect teeth. “I’d love that,” he purred. “Lead the way,” he added and waved his hand in the general direction of the door.

Alec nodded and started walking towards the exit. Every few seconds he turned his head to see if Magnus was actually following him. 

-

Simon was in a foul mood. Well, as much as Simon could be in a foul mood. Actually, he never really was in a foul mood. You could say that he was in an upset-about-a-minor-inconvenience mood. And that minor inconvenience was that he was not allowed to drink tonight.

Of course he was not yet twenty-one so actually he was never allowed to drink. Anywhere. But those were details. Fact was that he had been forbidden to drink by someone of younger age than him. To be fair that someone may be younger and also smaller than him but also very scary. And attractive. Why was it that most attractive people were also very scary?

Simon sighed. God, he needed a drink.

Which got him back to his old problem.

He only hoped that Alec’s “date” was going well. At least then his sacrifice would be worth it. Maybe Alec would hate him a little less if everything went well? Okay, no, that was not realistic. But maybe Alec wouldn’t be in such a foul mood all the time. That would be great. Because when Alec was in a foul mood then it was not like when Simon was in a foul mood. Alec got really scary.

Actually, he never truly stopped being scary.

What had he been thinking about earlier? Ah yes, right.

He wanted a drink.

His eyes scanned the dance floor, looking for a tall, brooding figure. Hopefully together with another tall, glittery figure. He found neither Alec nor Magnus. But he could see that Clary had finally given in to obnoxious-blonde-guy’s pleading. She was now dancing with him. If you could call it dancing.

Clary had always acted like she couldn’t stand Jace but Simon knew better. She had been making the heart eyes at him all through their math classes.

A little helpless he sighed and drummed the beat of the music with his fingertips against his thigh.

He should dance.

He couldn’t drink? Well, then he’d still have fun and go dancing!

Only that he couldn’t dance. And not because a very scary person forbade him to do so but because he was a terrible dancer. He loved music. Heck, he played the guitar in a band! Only dancing was an entirely different matter.

But then again who here was sober enough to judge him?

It was decided.

Simon stepped into the direction of the dance floor, fully prepared to have the most fun night of his life. Hesitatingly he started to move his body with the rhythm of the sound. First his head, then his shoulders. He didn’t know what to do with his hands so he kept them more or less secure at the height of his stomach. This wasn’t too bad. He felt like it was going well. He started moving his feet, now more confident. Yes, dancing was good. Dancing was fun. How had he ever thought he was a bad dancer? And maybe, if he kept repeating it in his head for long enough he’d actually start believing it. Simon sighed again and gave up on his attempt to dance.

That was when he saw him.

He was standing a little aside from everything, leaning against the wall opposite to Simon and holding a red plastic cup. On his face rested the expression of pure boredom. Even so he was, well, beautiful.

And he was looking at Simon. Simon was sure of it.

He wasn’t allowed to drink? He could just as well try to flirt because he sure as hell wouldn’t go back to dancing.

As soon as the other boy realized that Simon was on his way to him he raised an eyebrow in what could be confusion. Or maybe surprise. He was hard to read, which, okay, was intimidating. But Simon wasn’t about to back out now, no.

“Hey,” he greeted him, trying to sounds casual. Only that he had forgotten that he was still wearing his plastic teeth. Inwardly cursing himself he signed the other boy to wait a second and then turned around to take the teeth out. Since he didn’t know where else to place them he put them into his pocket.

Then he turned back to the boy and started again: “Hey.”

The boy showed himself unimpressed.

“So, uh, what’s your name?”

The other boy didn’t say anything, just kept staring at Simon. His eyes were unreadable, his one eyebrow still raised.

“You’re not much of a talker, are you?” he tried again.

“And you’re a terrible dancer.”

Simon blinked, surprised that he actually got an answer. “Wow, who knew? It speaks!” Then his cheeks heated up in embarrassment. “So, you saw, uh… that.”

“Obviously.”

“I’m not much of a dancer.”

“Obviously.”

“Yeah, obviously. But hey, at least I tried! Though sometimes it’s probably better to leave some things untried…”

Simon didn’t know what more to say, which was a first, so they just stood in silence for a few seconds.

“Raphael.” The boy had spoken so sudden that it left Simon a little dumbstruck.

“Huh?”

The boy rolled his eyes in annoyance which looked endearing. And was also the only other emotion he had shown by now, except for raising an eyebrow and looking bored. And Simon still didn't know what the eyebrow meant.

“You asked for my name. It’s Raphael.”

Simon’s face lit up in a grin. “Raphael? That’s a great name! Can I call you Raph?”

“No.”

“Okay!” Simon said, no less cheerful. “I’m Simon. I don’t have any nicknames either. Though it’s a little more difficult with Simon than it is with Raphael, I guess. Not even Clary has a nickname for me, even though she’s known me my whole life by now. Okay, that’s not entirely true. She used to call me Si, back when we were kids. Clary is my best friend. She’s the one over there, with the angel wings, who’s dancing with the blond knight. Hey, as what are you dressed, by the way?”

Raphael didn’t seem intimidated by Simon’s waterfall of words; he only looked bored. But that could be his default expression.

He was wearing nothing but black. Slacks with a belt and a tight shirt under a suit jacket. Maybe he had dressed himself as a secret agent?

Raphael took something out of his pocket. It was a small wooden stake.

Simon looked at it in confusion, then looked at Raphael for an explanation.

“I’m a vampire slayer.”

Simon kept staring at Raphael while second after second passed. The silence was so long that even Raphael looked a little uncomfortable, though it was hard to tell.

“That,” began Simon, still staring at the other boy, “is brilliant.”

The vampire slayer blinked in surprise as the vampire gave him a big grin. He realized that he wouldn’t get rid of that boy any time soon. He didn't mind.

-

When they finally stepped outside Alec took a deep breath. He enjoyed how the chill October air tickled in his lungs and cooled his skin. 

“So, what’s your name?” Alec gave Magnus his attention again, who had a playful shimmer in his eyes. “Can’t keep calling you ‘pretty boy’ forever now, can I?”

Alec frowned, trying to remember everything from their conversation. “I- I don’t think you’ve ever called me that.”

“Oh, is that so? Well, then I must have done so in my mind.” 

Alec blushed and the other boy grinned, almost triumphantly. He started walking, setting a slow pace, the Lightwood right at his side.

“Well, then?” 

Alec looked a little startled. He had been distracted by the way Magnus’ jacket tightened around his biceps as he crossed his arms to fight off the cold.

“Huh?”

“Your name. What is it?” Magnus reminded him, amused.

Alec rubbed his neck in embarrassment. “Yeah, right. I’m, uh, I’m Alec.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Alec. I’m Magnus.” Magnus offered him his hand and Alec shook it, albeit awkwardly. The other boy’s hands were warm.

“I know,” he answered and at the same moment cursed himself. “I mean, I saw you in the hallway and all. And you’re in the school’s drama club, so I’ve seen you on stage in the winter school play. You were good. I’m not usually the one for theatre but my sister made me see it and I liked how you played.”

“That’s very kind of you to say, Alec, thank you,” Magnus replied. Alec didn’t know if Magnus only wanted him to feel less bad about his awkward stuttering or if he was being sincere. Either way, Alec managed a grateful smile.

“I’m sorry,” he tried another start. “I’m not good with… words and stuff.”

“Don’t worry, darling. After my nervous rambling earlier I’m actually relieved to see you feeling the same way.”

“You don’t appear to be the type to, you know, get nervous.” Alec buried his hands in the pockets of his coat and could feel the novel he carried in his left pocket. He had almost forgotten about it but the well-known feeling of paper under his fingers calmed him.  
“It’s true, I’m usually not. But it’s also not exactly usual for me to meet someone as tall and handsome as you are, so the usual doesn’t seem to apply anymore.”

“You- I’m not-“Alec didn’t know what else to say so he just shut his mouth.

“You’re not what? Devastatingly handsome? Why, darling, you must have been raised in a house without mirrors. Your hat and the paint may hide a lot of your features but I can still see a strong jawline and sharp cheekbones. And a beautiful pair of hazel eyes.” 

Magnus smiled at him and Alec couldn’t do anything else but stare. He couldn’t figure out why Magnus would lie about something like that but imagining that he was telling the truth was even more surreal.

“I like your eyes too,” he finally croaked. He cleared his throat, damning the fact that it was still sour. “They’re pretty,” he added. _Wow_ , he thought, _that was really smooth. Congratulations, Alec._

But Magnus didn’t seem to mind. “Thank you." Then, after a heartbeat: "So, you mentioned a sister earlier. How old is she? Do you have more siblings?”

Alec relaxed a little. About his siblings he could talk.

“Well, there’s Izzy. She’s two years younger than I am, so she’s a sophomore. She’s a bit of a social butterfly and amazing with people but also smart as hell. When she was ten she decided that she wanted to be a pathologist. I mean, what ten-year-old wants to study forensics?

“And then there’s Jace. He’s the pretty boy in the family.”

“Even prettier than you?” Magnus chimed in, a teasing edge to his voice.

Alec almost laughed. If Magnus would have spotted Jace at first he would have dismissed Alec without a second thought.

“You probably know him. He plays in the football team of our school,” he explained, sidestepping an actual answer.

“A football player? Well, that puts a spoke into my wheel. I don’t think I could ever go out with someone who is related to a football player.”

Alec smiled fondly at Magnus’ dramatic tone of voice.

“Don’t worry, he’s adopted.”

Magnus sighed and swiped away some imaginary sweat on his forehead. “Thank God. You actually had me worried for a second there. I would have hated to not be able to ask you out on a date.”

Alec usually wasn’t someone to blush often but this felt like the hundredth time that his cheeks heated up. Like Magnus already said, the usual just didn’t seem to apply anymore.  
“He’s a good guy, actually. Bit of a narcissist sometimes but he loves us a lot. He’s as much part of the family as all the others.” Alec couldn’t help but sound a little protective of his brother. He knew that Magnus had been kidding but protecting the people he loved was rooted deeply in his nature. He couldn’t fight it off.

Magnus hummed in understanding. “You love him very much, I can tell.”

Alec shrugged. “I love them all very much. There’s also Max. He’s the youngest of us but already the smartest. He’ll turn thirteen this winter but it seems like only yesterday that he was in his diapers. Now he’s reading all day. If he’s not being snarky.”

It wasn’t supposed to be funny so Alec was surprised when Magnus laughed. Pleasantly surprised though. Magnus had a nice laugh.

He would have liked to learn more about Magnus and was just about to ask him a question but Magnus beat him to it.

“What about you? Your sister likes forensics, your brothers like football and books. What do you like?”

“Uh, I guess I’m a little like Max in that way. I like reading.”

“Oh, so you’ve got the looks _and_ the brains. Is there anything you can’t do, Alec?”  
Alec snorted, actually snorted, in amusement. “Form a coherent sentence when talking?” he suggested.

“Is that so? Because I just had a wonderful conversation with you that lasted several minutes. And I think I remember that it was full of coherent sentences by your side.”

“That’s not fair; it’s easy with you!” It took him a second or two to realize what he just said but when he did he blushed furiously.

“Oh, really?” The more awkward Alec got the more confident Magnus seemed to become.

“I mean, not at first because I was nervous. But you have this aura that… I just want to say that you have a way of treating people that makes talking to you easier.”

“Why, you’re a real charmer, are you not, Alec?” Magnus winked at him.

“It’s not charming when it’s true,” he murmured.

And to Alec’s surprise this left Magnus silent.

The Lightwood seized the opportunity to ask Magnus something about himself. “Do you have siblings?”

Magnus shook his head. “No, I’m an only-child.”

He didn’t elaborate any further or told him something about his parents, so Alec didn’t pry for more information. If there was something he understood it was complicated relationships with your parents.

“What do you do in your free-time then?”

“Mostly I’m with Ragnor and Catarina, my friends.” Alec knew that and he felt like a stalker for it. “Other than that I try to enjoy life as much as I can,” he continued. “Playing in the theatre, throwing parties, and going shopping. Things to pass the time with.”

“You always look really good.” Embarrassed by his own words Alec started playing with the hems of his jacket. “I mean clothe-wise. You always wear nice clothes. Izzy loves fashion and she always says that you have the best fashion sense of all the boys in the school. And if you include the girls she says you’re only inferior to her.” 

Magnus laughed. “She sounds like a girl with taste. I’d like to meet her someday.”

Alec couldn’t help but smile at the thought of Magnus sticking around long enough to meet his siblings. “Yeah, I think you two would go along well.”

They had circled the whole schoolyard by now and reached a bench on which Magnus sat down. He patted the seat next to him so that Alec would sit down as well, who, dutifully, obeyed.

They sat in comfortable silence for almost two minutes. But then it occurred to Alec that maybe it wasn't really comfortable. Maybe what felt to him like a comfortable silence felt awkward to Magnus? Maybe Alec was making a big mess out of what had been a nice evening until now. That was if Magnus also thought it had been a nice evening…

The other boy must have sensed Alec’s discomfort and shot him a worried look.

“Are you alright? Or do you want to go back inside?”

“No, I’m fine. Unless you want to go back inside? Because that would be fine by me.”

“No, I’m fine.”

“Good.”

“Yeah.”

This time Alec was sure that he wasn’t imagining things when he thought of the following silence as awkward.

“Why did you talk to me?” The words had escaped Alec’s mouth before he had been able to stop them.

“Pardon me?” Magnus seemed sincerely confused.

“I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’m glad you did it but I don’t really get it? You’re Magnus Bane! You’re beautiful, you always dress well, everyone likes you and- you’re just- you’re _Magnus Bane_.”

Alec kept his eyes fixated on the ground. Although he was tempted to look up and see Magnus’ reaction because he wasn’t saying anything.

Then, finally, after what felt like years of wait: “You think I’m beautiful?”

Slowly Alec raised his gaze until he could see into Magnus’ eyes. They were warm and brown and round in surprise.

Alec cleared his throat, cursing it for being sore. “Yeah,” he croaked, “of course I do.”

“Alec, would you have invited me to go outside with you if I weren’t as popular?”

“Yes.” The answer came immediately and full of confidence. Alec had no doubt that his crush on Magnus had nothing to do with the boy’s popularity.

“So you would have talked to me even if I weren’t as well-liked in our school as I am now. But then why do you assume that I wouldn’t talk to you? Yes, I have no idea who you are. I also don't know if I have ever seen you in school before. And your costume makes it frustratingly hard to recognize any familiar features. But I do recognize that you are very handsome. And even more: The conversation we just had made me realize that you are also a very kind person. Insanely loyal and protective of your siblings and that all you lack is a little bit of confidence. So I don’t care if you’re head of the football team or if you’re part of the chess club. Although I don’t remember anyone in the chess club having shoulders as deliciously broad as yours. I think you’re worth getting to know better.”

Unlike Alec who had turned his face to the ground when telling Magnus that he thought him to be beautiful Magnus looked right into Alec’s face.

His little speech left Alec dumbstruck. He’d known that Magnus was kind. He’d seen him interact with other students and he could remember the boy’s reaction when Alec crashed into him well. Still he was left surprised and with nothing to say.

He studied Magnus’ face with intensity, searching for a clue that might tell him that the other one was kidding. But he couldn’t find a thing. Of course that didn’t have to mean anything. Alec wasn’t the best in picking up clues from someone’s body language. Still Magnus actually seemed to be sincere.

It was then that Alec realized how close they were. He could feel the heat radiating from the other one’s body and he could breathe in the scent of his cologne. He could see the perfectly plucked eyebrows arching above those warm brown eyes. They were circled by a thin line of some kind of golden, glittery paint. He could see the straight nose that went a little flat at the end and glossy, soft-looking lips. He wondered if these lips would feel as soft against his as they looked.

That was ridiculous. Magnus only knew him for a few minutes now. It had been a few minutes, right? Alec didn’t feel like any time had passed at all.

“May I kiss you?”

Alec’s breath hitched in his throat at Magnus’ question. He would’ve liked to say “Yes” or simply nod but it seemed like all strength had left his body. Instead he slowly moved forwards until their foreheads met. He wasn’t sure if he had the courage to go any further but Magnus was already tilting his head. And before Alec knew what was happening their lips touched.

It was a little like before, when Magnus had talked to him and his brain had just stopped working. He was lucky, actually, that it did the same right now because otherwise he had probably gone into shock. Now, however, his body seemed to know exactly what to do and kissed back.

It was obvious that Magnus was experienced. Far more experienced than Alec, but this time Alec didn’t care. He wasn’t panicking that he wasn’t good enough, comparing his kissing skills to Magnus’. He was just enjoying the kiss.

And God, what a kiss it was.

Not really knowing what else to do with his hands he put his left on the small of Magnus’ back and drew him closer. Magnus responded by putting both his hands up; one to rest on Alec’s neck and one to rest on his shoulder.

Feeling courageous Alec slipped his right hand under Magnus’ coat, still above his shirt. He could feel the other boy shiver and worried he interrupted their kiss.

“Are you cold?”

Magnus seemed a little taken aback. His gaze was dizzy, his soft lips wonderfully red and a bit swollen.

“Huh?”

“You’re shivering,” Alec explained. “Are you cold?”

Realization cleared Magnus’ face and he laughed, his eyes crinkling in amusement. “Oh Alec, believe me when I say that my shivering has nothing to do with the cold autumn air.” Alec frowned in confusion but Magnus already kept talking. “Although I admit that it has gotten rather chilly. Do you want to go back inside?”

Alec felt a little pang of disappointment at the thought of leaving their intimate togetherness but he didn’t want Magnus to be cold so he nodded.

The fairy tale prince leaned forward to peck the bandit on the lips once more and then took his hand to lead him back to the gym.

-

As soon as they stepped back inside the gym they were greeted by hot air, too loud music and drunken people. Magnus didn’t let go of his hand and led him directly onto the dance floor. Alec slowed their pace down, reluctant to go.

Magnus noticed and turned around to face him. “What is it?”

Alec shrugged. “I’m not much of a dancer.”

Magnus took his other hand as well. “Then you never had the right partner.” And with those words he dragged them right into the middle of all the moving bodies.

Alec gulped. He never did well around so many people and he also never did well with trying out new things. He was a quiet and consistent person and he liked it that way.

Magnus stepped into his personal space and tilted his head a little to whisper into Alec’s ear.

“Don’t be afraid.”

And somehow those words actually did their job and Alec lost a little of his tension as a shiver ran down his spine. Magnus stayed in his personal space and wrapped both his arms around Alec’s neck. Out of reflex more than anything Alec put his arms around Magnus’ waist.

Magnus was leading. Luckily the music had changed into something a little less hectic, which made it easier for Alec to follow Magnus' pace. It was a little awkward at first but soon he stopped thinking too much about it and just reacted to what Magnus did. Maybe it really was all about the right partner.

Later then he wouldn’t remember how long they’d danced. But he’d remember how he could feel Magnus’ breath against his lips. How his muscles moved under his shirt as they danced. He’d remember that he hadn’t cared about a lot in that moment except that it should last forever.

But of course it didn’t.

At some point Magnus had tilted his head again to say something into Alec’s ear. “Do you want something to drink?”

Alec nodded and they left the dance floor, again hand in hand.

“I’ll be right back. Don’t leave,” he told Alec, then leaned forwards to kiss him once more. And as he went off to get them something to drink he looked back once or twice, like he was making sure that Alec was still standing where he had left him. As if the Lightwood wouldn’t have waited for hours for Magnus if the boy had asked him to.

As soon as Magnus was out of sight he let himself take in what exactly had happened this night. He had talked with his crush, alone. He had kissed his crush, more than once. He had danced with his crush, in front of his whole school. And he had enjoyed every bit of it.

A small smile appeared on his lips. This was too good to be real.

“Thank the angel, Alec, I found you!”

Being deep in his thoughts he was a little startled by his sister’s voice. Izzy stood right in front of him. Her braid was a little loose and some single strands had wiggled their way out of it and were now framing her face. The paint around her eyes was just a tiny bit smeared but her lipstick was still impeccable.

“Izzy?”

“I’ve been looking everywhere for you, Alec! It’s almost midnight; we have to leave!”

“What?”

“You hear me, now hurry up! Jace and Clary are already waiting outside and I even managed to free Simon from his new boyfriend.”

“But-”

“Why are you still standing here? We should be moving!”

“I can’t leave, Iz!”

“Well, shoot, ‘cause you’ll have to or else Mom and Dad will skin both of us alive!”

The fact that she didn’t ask him why he didn’t want to leave told Alec that she was being serious. His sister was usually way too nosy to leave any questions unasked.

She grabbed him by his arm and tried to drag him to the exit but he leaned against it.

“Alec, is everything alright?” asked another, deeper voice.

Alec turned around and there stood Magnus, two red plastic cups in his hands and a confused frown on his face. Alec looked at his sister again, who had stopped pulling at his arm and now watched the two of them wide-eyed. It didn’t take her long to recover from the initial shock.

“I’m so sorry, Alec, but we need to.”

He nodded and turned back to Magnus.

“I’m sorry, I’ve got to go.”

“What?” Magnus seemed now more confused than ever. “But why? I don’t understand…”

“I know, it’s just… I can’t explain it right now, it’s complicated. Trust me, I’d much rather stay. This night was one of the best ones of my life and if I could I would want it to never end.” He realized how sappy he sounded but he didn’t care.

“Alec…” came the warning voice of his sister.

“I’m sorry, I need to leave.”

“But you can’t just… I don’t even know-“

But before he could finish his sentence Alec pushed forward one last time and kissed him. It was nothing like their first kiss because they didn’t have enough time to deepen it. But it wasn’t like all their light pecks either. Alec tried to show him just how much this night had meant to him and how much he hoped that Magnus would remember him.

He didn’t know if it had worked and he didn’t have the time to find out. His sister was already dragging him through the crowd. He forcefully bumped into someone but didn’t have time to apologize.

Soon they were out the exit and on their way to the parking lot they ran. Alec took his hat off, so that it wouldn’t fly away.

Jace, Simon and Clary were already waiting at the car.

“What the hell, man? What took you so long?” complained Jace.

But Alec wasn’t listening. He unlocked the car and slipped into the driver’s seat, throwing his hat on the backseat.

Izzy sent her brother a smug smile while they too crawled into the car.

“Alec had a little fun tonight,” she said.

“What? Congrats, man!” Jace grinned from one ear to another.

“I thought I was supposed to drive,” Simon chimed in.

“I only took a sip. I can drive,” answered Alec.

“Then why was I forbidden to drink?” Simon complained but he didn’t seem all too upset. Alec remembered that Izzy had mentioned some kind of boyfriend.

“Let’s go.” Alec turned the key and the engine jumped to life.

-

For a second or two Magnus could do nothing but stand there, two drinks in his hands. But then finally his brain caught up to what was happening around him. He let the drinks drop, the liquid splattering around. He could hear the protest, but he didn’t care. 

He was lucky that Alec was a giant. That way he could make out the black hat in the crowd as he started chasing him.

He pushed the people left and right out of his way, not wanting to lose sight of Alec. But the boy was faster than him and was already almost at the exit as Magnus collided with another student. 

The girl, drunken, giggled instead of complaining. 

“Hello, sweetie,” she hummed. “Are you looking for something? Or someone…” She giggled again, throwing her arms around his neck.

Careful to bring some space between them he loosened her grip around him.

“Actually I am. But it’s not you. I’m sure someone else will be more than happy when he finds you.” 

The girl pouted but he was already back to looking for Alec. He cursed when he couldn’t spot him and made his way to the exit as fast as he could.

Outside he couldn’t see anyone but then he heard the sound of an engine. 

He ran to the parking lot and arrived just in time to see a car driving away.

-

They had quickly dropped off Clary and Simon and picked up Max who had kept rambling about his evening. How Jocelyn had made cookies and let him try the dough and how Luke had shown him his weapons and explained what it's like to be a cop. ("Jocelyn also wanted to give me some cookies for you but I told her that it would look suspicious. You know, Mom and Dad would start asking questions if I turned up with cookies that good. So I had to eat them all by myself."). Alec hadn’t said one word but the corners of his mouth were tucked upwards the whole time. Just a little. He wondered if they were being controlled by an outer force as he couldn't seem to do anything against it.

As soon as Alec parked the car the four of them jumped out and went inside. A quick glance at the clock told them that they only had ten minutes left until their parents would arrive.

Jace went with Max to help him get ready for bed as fast as possible while Izzy went with Alec.  
Alec discarded all his clothes in a hurry, throwing them to Izzy who was quick to catch them. He practically flew into his sweatpants and shirt and was just about to crawl under his blanket when his sister stopped him.

“Wait, Alec, your makeup!”

Alec had totally forgotten about that. He raised his hands and tried to wipe it away but only ended up with black paint all over his fingers.

“Give me a second, I’ll get you something,” Izzy said and left only to come back two seconds later with a package of tissues.

“Close your eyes and hold still,” she commanded and he willingly obeyed.

The tissues were wet with some kind of crème or something that Alec didn’t know. But they were soft to the touch and Isabelle cleaned his face with a confident strokes. She ended up using many of those tissues because there was so much paint. She also needed one for his hands because he had smeared them black in his attempt to free himself of the black.

“Now you’re all ready. Get into bed and pretend you’re asleep. I’ll see that Max is ready as well.” She got up to her toes and bent his head a little so that she could kiss his forehead. “Good night, big brother.”

“Good night, Izzy,” he said. She was almost out of the door when he remembered something. 

“Iz?”

“Huh?”

“Thank you. For everything.” He really did mean it and hoped that she would know that he was being sincere. He thought she knew.

She gave him a small smile. “You’re welcome, Alec. I’m glad you had fun.”

And then she left and he went to crawl under his blanket and pretend to be asleep. Although he didn’t think he would actually find any rest.

-

He could hear the front door being unlocked, just a few minutes after he had lain down. Then there was the sound of footsteps in the hallway. He could hear the door to his room creaking a little as it was being opened. Through his closed eyes he could see light hitting his face as it streamed from the hallway into his room.

Alec forced himself to take deep and slow breaths.

A few seconds later he could hear the door creaking again as it was being closed.

He couldn’t help but smile a little in relief.

-

Alec had been wrong. He had fallen asleep at one point. Rather soon actually; and he had slept soundly.

The next morning he awoke before his alarm (that he also set on Saturdays) but he decided to keep lying in bed for a while. Just because he felt like it.

Usually he always got up the minute he awoke and then went to make him and his siblings breakfast. But today the usual seemed so wrong.

Alec felt like he wanted to try out something new. Something interesting. Something enticing. Something like… Magnus.

Another smile spread on his lips. He had kissed Magnus Bane.  
The thought actually made him pull away his blanket and get up with a lot more enthusiasm than most times. He went into the bathroom to take a shower, then brushed his teeth and got dressed. If he had been a little more musical then maybe he would have hummed.

Content he walked into the kitchen. Maybe he should make pancakes? After all they had started everything.

He began taking everything he needed out of the cupboards and the fridge to make the batter. When he had already finished three pancakes Jace entered the kitchen.

“Am I smelling pancakes?” he asked with wide eyes.

Alec didn’t answer, just smiled. He did that an awful lot since last night.

“Wow, someone’s in a good mood. I’d tell you to spill the whole story this instant but not before I’ve had my coffee.” With a giant yawn he stretched and made his way to the coffee machine.

“Sure, I’ve already had a mug.” Alec pointed next to him, where he always placed his coffee mug but there was nothing. He frowned.

“Actually… I didn’t have any coffee today…”

“Then how are you that awake?” Jace asked.

“I don’t know,” Alec admitted, shrugging helplessly. He smiled again.

“What happened at the party that got you grinning like that?”

“That I would like to know as well.” Alec whirled around at the sound of the female voice. When he saw who was standing in the doorway he went pale.

“Mother.” The word that escaped his lips was nothing more than a whisper, barely audible. Usually she was working on weekends as well but here she stood. Right in front of him.

She was wearing her work clothes though: a grey pencil skirt and a matching blazer. Her hair was tamed in a strict ponytail. In her hands she held the hat that Alec had worn last night and that he had discarded in the car without a second thought.

She held it up high for him to see.

“I presume this is yours?” It wasn’t a question. Not really. “When your father and I were at the meeting last night we made an interesting discovery. Mr. Morgenstern mentioned that we asked him to postpone the meeting but we did no such thing. Of course this put us in a rather uncomfortable situation as you surely understand. As this was an important meeting we acted as though we did reschedule everything to go on with our business. But this made us think: If Mr. Morgenstern did not postpone the meeting and neither did we then who did? And then we remembered the school event and that we grounded you. Now, my question is simple, Alexander: Are you really that stupid?”

Alec didn’t answer. He didn’t dare to. Out of the corner of his eyes he could see that the pancake needed to be flipped but he couldn’t move a single muscle.

His mother hadn’t screamed. She had kept her voice calm and collected, as always. But in her eyes burned an anger that could force dragons to whimper in fear.

“Alright then,” she continued when she sensed that her son wasn’t going to answer. “I don’t know how or why you did it but I must say that I am very disappointed in you, Alexander. You betrayed both me and your father. Your own parents. I would have expected more of you.

“You will not leave this house again until I say so. You will not go to school next week. I will tell your teachers that you are sick. You will let yourself be sent all the material and you will work it through, the whole day. You will only take breaks to eat and to use the bathroom. If you have worked through the required material for the day you will work ahead.”

No school? That would mean that he would not see Magnus again! The other boy didn’t even know his last name; didn’t even know what he looked like without paint all over his face! When Alec would finally be allowed back to school Magnus would have forgotten him already. Panic rose in him.

“But-“ He noticed his mistake too late.

“But?” Maryse’ voice was full of sweet danger. “Alexander, I think you have misread this situation. Your punishment is not up for discussion. Now go to your room. No breakfast for you today.”

He hesitated, wanted to say something but didn’t know what.

“Now.”

He hurried to put the spatula aside and left the room, trying to ignore the lump in his throat. The smell of burnt pancakes followed him outside. 

-

Alec felt like crying. And he felt stupid for feeling like crying. He should have known. This whole plan had been doomed from the start. And then he had actually thought that he had a chance with Magnus Bane!

God, he was so fucking stupid.

He was lying on his bed, face buried in his pillow.

He should have stayed at home.

“Alec?”

Alec didn’t react to his sister’s voice, not wanting to talk. He was angry at her for coming up with such a stupid plan in the first place. He knew he was being unfair. After all she had never forced him to agree and that’s why he felt even more terrible.

“Jace just told me what happened. Can I come in?”

She was already standing in the door way and when he didn’t react she slipped into the room. Careful not to make any loud sounds she closed the door behind her.

“I brought you pancakes.” He didn’t react to that either and after a few seconds he could hear how she placed the plate on his nightstand.

“Alec, I am so sorry. I should have known that something like that would happen. I should not have forced you into it.”

“You didn’t,” he mumbled into his pillow.

“No, but I was damn close. You didn’t want to do this. You doubted it from the beginning and I just couldn’t keep my mouth shut. I just had to keep pushing.” Her voice was trembling and Alec knew that she was close to tears. He felt awful.

With a sigh he sat up and signed her to take a seat next to him. Then he held one arm open and she went to cuddle into his chest, sniffing a little.

“You didn’t make me do anything that I didn’t want to. I chose to do this and now I have to bear the consequences. We’re Lightwoods, that’s what we do. Like back when I broke that kid’s nose in kendo training after he kept beating the crap out of me. What was his name?”

“Preston,” Isabelle reminded him. He could hear her smile at the memory.

“Right, Preston. His mom was furious but I knew what I was doing that moment. And so I accepted the consequences.” His fingers petted her hair in soothing strokes.

“Was it worth it at least?” she whispered.

It didn’t matter if it was worth it or not because it was over now. He wanted to tell her so but then he remembered Magnus’ laugh. How he had laughed at Alec’s jokes of all and how nice it had felt. He remembered how Magnus always gestured a lot with his hands when he talked. How his eyes had never left Alec’s face when he had listened. How his lips had carried a mischievous smile when he flirted. How they had danced and how they had kissed. How good it all had felt.

“Yes. Yes, it was worth it.”

-

“Did you find him already?” Cat asked him and took one big bite out of her sandwich.  
They were sitting in the cafeteria and Magnus had seated himself so that he could keep an eye on the entrance.

“No, not yet.” Magnus hadn’t eaten anything. After the bell had rung he had hurried into the cafeteria to make sure he wouldn’t miss him. There had been no time to buy food at the counter. Besides, he wasn’t even hungry.

“I’m sure he will turn up eventually,” she assured him.

Magnus wasn’t quite so optimistic. The night had been lovely, amazing even. But Alec’s sudden leave had been enough to plant seeds of doubt in Magnus’ heart. Seeds that had had the whole weekend to blossom and grow into twisted and ugly plants.

Maybe he was wrong. Maybe Alec hadn’t felt the same as he did.

“Will you even be able to recognize him?” Raphael chimed in, which surprised Magnus. He wouldn’t have expected any interest from the boy. “I mean,” he continued, “you don’t even know his hair color because he was wearing a hat. And his eyebrows and lashes were dyed with black paint.”

“Of course I would recognize him,” Magnus scoffed. “I know his physique, his eye color, the way he moves and talks. I know his voice. I would recognize him.”

Alec had beautiful dark eyes, Magnus remembered. They had been one of the things that he had liked the most about the other boy’s looks. Brown, they had been. Or maybe green? Suddenly Magnus wasn’t too sure anymore. Maybe his brain was messing things up; maybe they were blue after all?

“You’re talking like you know him but you’ve only ever met him once. And from what I hear he only talked about his family. That means that he’s either boring and has nothing to tell about himself-“

“- or that he loves his siblings very much and likes talking about them,” Magnus interrupted.  
“Either way, you know nothing about him. Only that he has three siblings and likes to read. Oh, and that he’s a good kisser, not to forget.”

“Does your tirade also have a point?” Magnus was growing tired of Raphael’s negativity.

“I’m just saying that you have a tendency to idealize people. Think of Camille! The girl is a bitch but you only ever saw what you wanted to see. And who is better to idealize than a total stranger? It’s the same as the cafeteria-boy. He crashed into you, said two words and left. You only saw him for ten seconds and you were crushing on him for the rest of the week. Until this Alec guy comes along. Now you’re hung up on him. That’s not healthy.”

This moment Raphael spotted Simon entering the room and got up to sit with him. Magnus was left with his mouth wide open. He had never heard Raphael say more than ten words in a row. And he had never thought that Raphael actually cared about him.

“Wow,” was what he finally managed to say. “Sean must be a good influence on him. And that after only three days. If I would have suspected something like that I would have asked biscuit to introduce these two earlier. I had no idea Raphael could be this passionate.” Magnus tried to joke but the words of his friend made him think. “Do you think he’s right?”

Cat sighed. “Yes, I think he has a point.” After she saw the hurt in his eyes she was quick to add: “But I think that’s why you need to find Alec! If he keeps being nothing more than a stranger then you will forever think of him as this perfect guy. He, who could be your one true love! And you will keep thinking that for the rest of your life. Every time you enter a relationship you will think that there may be someone better out there. Every other person you choose will only be second choice. I don’t want that for you. You need to find this guy so you can figure out who he really is. And if he actually deserves you.”

“He does.”

“We will see.”

She shot him an encouraging smile and he smiled back. She was right, he shouldn’t give up. He was Magnus freaking Bane. Giving up was just not an option for him. 

And sitting around, observing the door shouldn’t be an option either. He couldn’t sit there and wait for things to fall into place. It was just not his style.

He could feel an idea forming in his head.

“Cat?” 

“Yes?” She must have sensed that something was different because she looked alarmed.

“I need your help. Raphael probably won’t join in so maybe we’ll need to ask Ragnor. That is if he’s already recovered from his headache until then.”

“What do you need us for?”

“I think I have a plan.”

-

The weekend Alec stayed in his room, like his mother had ordered him to. He only ever came out to use the bathroom or eat something. His siblings were not to visit him and he spent most of his time studying, although he didn’t need to. Sometimes Izzy would smuggle a chocolate bar into his room from under the door.

He was bored to death. 

But that was nothing compared to what he felt like on Monday morning. 

He awoke way too early and could hear how his siblings got ready and left the house. All he could think about while he was lying in his bed was Magnus.

Would Magnus look for him in the cafeteria? Would he be disappointed if he couldn’t find him? Would he even care?

Alec thought that Magnus may. He hoped so. Or rather he had to, although it was ridiculous. Magnus didn’t even know what he looked like without paint all over his face. Neither did he know Alec’s full name.

For once he was glad that his mother had ordered him to study non-stop. It distracted him from his thoughts about Magnus. At least sometimes.

At around afternoon he heard a hesitant knock on his door.

“Yes?” he called.

Isabelle opened the door.

“Izzy! You’re not allowed in here! If Mom catches you-“

“Mom’s not home.”

He sighed but waved her in. She sat on his bed, like she always did, and crossed her legs. He turned his chair, so that he could look at her.

“How’s your work going?” she asked.

He shrugged. “It’s going fine. It would go better if I hadn’t lost my novel.”

“The one you gave to Magnus when you crashed into him in the cafeteria?”

Alec blushed at the memory, still embarrassed about it. “No, of _Frankenstein_ I have another copy. My _Othello_ has gone missing…”

“But you never lose anything!”

Izzy took the pillow from his bed and hugged it. She did that often, especially in the cold months. Isabelle always tended to freeze a lot but would never admit it because then she wouldn’t be able to wear all her short skirts and dresses in winter.

He liked thinking about all the winters in which they had gone ice skating in Central Park. Back when she had been not much more than a toddler Alec had always held her hand so that she wouldn’t fall and cry because her bottoms had gone cold and wet. Now she outdid all of them with her grace on the ice.

He didn’t like to admit it but sometimes he missed that his siblings needed him.

“Earth to Alec? Hello!” Isabelle snapped her fingers and forced him out of his daydreaming.

“Yeah, sorry. What did you say?”

“I asked you when you lost your novel.”

“Must have been at the party. I bumped into some people there. I probably didn’t notice how it slipped out of my pocket.”

“You… you had a novel with you at the party?” his sister asked, her eyes widened in disbelief.

“Well,” he tried to explain himself, “I didn’t know if I would get bored, so I thought: Better safe than sorry.” Self-conscious he rubbed his neck.

“I swear to God, Alec, you’re beyond saving. Nobody brings a book to a party. Nobody. But talking about the party… do you want to know the hot gossip?” 

He sighed. Actually he had no interest in the ‘hot gossip’ but he knew Isabelle had fun telling him all about it. “Spill,” he said. 

“The whole school is talking about the Halloween party from Friday. Apparently someone spiked the punch as you may have already guessed. Mr. Jones and Mrs. Madison were the supervising teachers for that night. Rumor has it that someone spiked their drinks as well because they were hammered that night. Charlene Cameron swears that she saw them making out behind the bins during the party. But I don’t know if I believe that. Charlene loves to gossip and would say anything to get a little bit of attention. And I know for a fact that she was totally wasted. I’d be surprised if she actually remembered anything from that night.”

Alec nodded. All that didn’t interest him and Izzy knew that. She was just trying to distract him.

“And Magnus?” He almost didn’t dare to ask.

“I saw him in the cafeteria. He looked pretty beat down. To me it looked like he was waiting for someone. He was keeping an eye on the entrance the whole time. But then he left early. I don’t know where he went.”

Alec gulped. Had Magnus been waiting for him? He must have. But why had he left early? If he really had been waiting then why not wait until the lunch break was over? The only reasonable explanation would be that Izzy was wrong and he hadn’t been waiting at all. It must have been a coincidence that he was facing the entrance.

“Thank you. If that’s all then I need to do my homework.” He wanted to be alone.

His sister got the hint and got up. She was almost out of the door when she remembered something.

“Oh, and Simon is now seeing someone.”

Alec distinctly recalled Izzy mentioning some kind of boyfriend at the party.

“The guy from Friday?” he asked.

She nodded. “His name is Raphael. They’re an odd couple but it works somehow. Simon is already smitten.”

Alec forced a smile and Isabelle left the room.

At least someone was happy. Even if it was Simon.

-

The next day Isabelle came visiting him again after school. Only this time she didn’t even bother to knock.

“Alec, you won’t believe what’s happened!”

She opened the door with so much force that it hit the wall.

“Geez, Iz! You almost gave me a heart attack!” Alec protested. He ducked to pick up the pen that he had dropped in surprise.

Izzy ignored his complaint.

“Look!” She forced a piece of paper in his hand. It was all crumbled up so Alec had to flatten it before he could take a good look. Izzy, for whom the whole process took way too long, impatiently stepped from one foot to another.

Finally Alec could take a clear look on what was in his hands. It looked like a “Most Wanted” poster. The silhouette of a man’s portrait took in most of the paper. There wasn’t much to identify about him except that he was wearing a hat. On his face was a big question mark.  
The headline said “Cinderella” and there was also a little text beneath the picture.

Izzy read it out loud: “The mysterious _Cinderella_ was last seen at the night of the Halloween party (where he was dressed as a bandit) but vanished at midnight. He is over six feet tall with broad shoulders. Although his first name is known it will not be revealed for reasons of privacy. If you are _Cinderella_ then meet me tomorrow at the old tree right next to the football field. Any sightings of _Cinderella_ may be reported to Magnus Bane.”

Alec couldn’t believe it. This was absurd. He couldn’t process it. This was- He didn’t even know what it was.

“Aren’t you happy?” Izzy asked, frowning at his lack of reaction.

“I don’t know,” he replied in all honesty.

“Alec, he’s looking for you! He wants to meet you!”

“You don’t know that.” His voice sounded hollow to him. “It could be any guy that’s over six feet tall and has broad shoulders. It doesn’t even mention the name. For all we know he forgot it.”

“No, he just wants to give you a chance to refuse if you want to without the whole school gossiping about you! Why are you saying all that? It’s so obvious that he’s talking about you! You spent almost the whole night with him and left at midnight. And you were dressed as a bandit, like it says in the poster! He wants to meet you, Alec!” Izzy looked as hurt as if she had been the one looking for _Cinderella_.

“Why does it matter if he wants to meet me? I won’t be able to go anyway,” he scoffed.

“Why? Because Mom grounded you? We’ll sneak you out. We did it once we can do it again!” she argued.

“Yeah, because the first time worked so well.” He could hear how bitter he sounded but he didn’t care. He was bitter. “Just drop it, Iz.”

Isabelle was clearly taken aback. “You’re afraid, that’s what you are,” she whispered. “But not about whether Magnus will take you or not because this poster is proof that he will. This is about Mom. You don’t want to disappoint her, do you?”

“It’s a little too late for that,” he croaked. His throat hadn’t been sore since Sunday but suddenly his voice had dropped an octave.

“No, Alec. All your life you have done nothing but what Mom and Dad told you to do. You were the perfect son. Last Friday was the first time you did something for yourself, and you had fun! Who cares that you got caught? You said it yourself: It was worth it. Just because she is your mother that doesn’t mean that she’s always right. She may be older than we are but age doesn’t magically make you wiser or smarter. It doesn’t make you be right about everything.”

Alec knew that she had a point but he couldn’t help but still feel the guilt gnawing at his heart. It was different than before the party because now he had already betrayed them. 

He had spent all his life being a son, being a brother. He couldn’t just stop from one day to another. There wasn’t a switch to flick and change everything.

“I need to get back to work.” He didn’t dare to look Isabelle in the eye and just waited until she left the room again.

He felt even worse now because he had disappointed her as well but he knew he was doing the right thing.

Magnus Bane was a dream. He was impossible and reckless and colorful. He was everything that Alec would never be and everything he would never have. It was better if he ended this now. It wouldn’t be fair of him to lead Magnus on in such a way if he’d disappoint him too. A clean break would save them both the heartache.

-

Magnus was standing in the men’s restroom of the school, observing his reflection in the mirror. This day he had been extra careful with his wardrobe choice. He was wearing his usual tight pants, this time emerald, combined with a loose silver-black shirt that he only buttoned half way. Underneath he wore several silver necklaces and a black velvet choker. He had dyed the tips of his hair in the same emerald color as his pants and put on some eyeliner that was emerald as well. All in all he felt positively sexy and a little bit dangerous, which helped him boost his confidence. 

He applied some more lip gloss, just in case, took a deep breath and made his way to the meeting point.

He couldn’t help but feel a little nervous. Would Alec show up? And if so, what then? Would they fall into each other’s arms? Talk? What was he supposed to say?

Magnus was certain that Alec must have at least seen the posters. Cat and he had been more than thorough in their work, even though Ragnor had called in sick. Magnus was a little wary about the truth of that statement but since everything had gone smoothly he didn’t complain.

With long, determined steps he crossed the schoolyard on his way to the tree. His heart was pounding louder the closer he got. He imagined Alec standing there, alone, with a timid smile on his lips. Waiting for Magnus.

So he was a little surprised, to say the least, when he discovered that there was not one, but ten guys standing at the meeting point. All over six feet tall and with broad shoulders.

Magnus jerked to a halt. He weighed the pros and cons of just turning around and leaving again before any of them could see him but it was too late. One of them had spotted him and soon they all had their eyes on him.

Magnus sighed. This was not how he had imagined this going.

He walked the last few steps until he reached them. “May I help you, gentlemen?”

One of them, the tallest, took the word. “Yes, I’m-“ He took a piece of paper out of his pocket and unfolded it. It was one of Magnus’ posters. “I’m _Cinderella_. And I came here to meet you but these guys say the same.”

Magnus stood there, frozen in shock. “So, everyone here is saying that… they are _Cinderella_?”

He was met with collective nods.

“So at least nine of you guys are lying to get into my pants,” he stated. This time followed more or less self-conscious shrugs and half-nods. 

This was unexpected. Albeit flattering.

“Uhm, actually,” one of the guys chimed in. He had blonde hair and bicolored eyes that made it somewhat confusing to look at him. “I’m not here for myself.”

“I can see that,” Magnus answered. “Your eyes have the wrong color.” At least he was sure that Alec hadn’t had bicolored eyes. “And you’re too short.”

“I’m not short! Look, whatever. I’m here for my brother. He’d be here himself but our mom grounded him, so he can’t leave the house,” he explained.

Magnus scoffed. “Not even for school? Sounds like a pretty weak excuse to me.”

“It wouldn’t if you knew our mom,” the boy countered.

“Alright this is getting a little ridiculous. Obviously you cannot all be _Cinderella_ , so I guess I’ll just have to ask you for your names.” 

His phone vibrated in his pocket, so he took it out to see who was calling him.

‘ _Little Cabbage_ ’ flashed on the screen. Magnus signed the boys to wait and walked out of earshot while at the same time picking up.

“Ragnor, what took you so long?”

“I have a cold, Magnus. I need rest. And helping you with your usual shenanigans doesn’t exactly fall into that category. Anyway, Cat called me. She explained everything to me and I think I have something that might help you.” His friend’s voice sounded indeed nasal and made his accent only thicker.

“Do tell.” He wasn’t exactly eager to return to the ten boys waiting for him at the tree.

“Last Friday I saw you chasing a guy with a black hat. I suppose that is your mysterious _Cinderella_?”

“That would be him, yes.” He had no idea where this was heading.

“Well, he bumped into me on his way out. Dropped a book. _Othello_ by Shakespeare. I must say, your boyfriend has taste, even though you seem to have a thing for people who bail out on you.”

A book? Why would that be important in his mission on finding Alec? Unless-

“Was there a name? In the book?”

“I don’t know. Give me a second, I’ll go look for it. I must have put it somewhere…”

Adrenaline rushed through Magnus’ veins and his heartbeat went faster. Keeping his phone pressed against his ears he went back to the group of boys waiting for him.

“Okay, one question. If you can answer it correctly then you’re worth my time. If not then you can leave right away. Understood?”

Again, collective nodding.

“When he left, _Cinderella_ dropped something. What was it?” 

This was met with silence. He could see blondie, who said that Alec was his brother, typing on his phone.

“A glass slipper?” someone jokingly suggested. 

A few boys laughed but Magnus shook his head and signed the guy to leave.

After that the guesses became a little more down-to-earth. His wallet, headphones, keys, phone… they all had to leave.

Until-

“A book. Shakespeare’s _Othello_.”

All eyes were on blondie, who was grinning and holding up his phone. Magnus almost couldn’t believe it. 

“That’s correct,” he whispered.

“Seriously?” one of the guys complained. “A book? Who takes Shakespeare to a Halloween party?”

“ _Cinderella_ , obviously,” blondie said, a triumphant smile on his lips. “Now piss off, no one likes a liar.”

The guy glared but did as he was told, as did the others that were still left, until only Magnus and blondie remained.

“I think Alec told me about you,” Magnus remembered. “Do you, per chance, play football?”

Blondie’s grin widened, if that was even possible. “That’d be me. Jace, second oldest and most handsome one in the family.”

He extended his hand for the other one to shake and Magnus took it.

“Let’s say the handsome part lies in the eye of the beholder,” he smirked.

At this moment Ragnor piped up again. “Magnus, are you still there?”

“Yes, I’m still there. Turns out my plan was successful after all,” he answered.

“Good for you. I found the name, do you still want it?” 

It wasn’t really necessary, because he could just ask blondie, but why not? “Yes.”

“Alexander G. Lightwood.”

It was like all air was being sucked out of Magnus’ lungs as it all fell into place.

He could see an old well-read exemplar of Merry Shelly’s _Frankenstein_ in his mind. Inside was a name, written neatly with a pen into the upper right corner of the first page. The name of a boy with whom he had crashed in the cafeteria, who was adorable with his dark hair and blushing cheeks. A tall boy, at least six feet, with broad shoulders.

“Magnus, are you alright?” he could hear Ragnor’s voice through the phone. Blondie in front of him looked a little worried as well.

“Everything is fine, Ragnor. I need to hang up; will call you later.”

“What? Magnus, what is happening?”

“I found him.”

-

“Alec, we’re home!” 

Alec frowned as he looked up from his work. It wasn’t like his siblings to announce themselves when they came back from school. Who else was it supposed to be? Their parents worked until the late evenings and no one else had a key. 

But before he could come to a conclusion there was already a knock on his door. He thought that it must be Izzy, so he called her in.

No answer.

“Iz?”

Still no answer.

He sighed, got up, opened the door himself and froze on the spot.

Right in front of him stood Magnus Bane, looking fabulous as ever. 

Incapable of doing anything else than staring he did that for what seemed like an eternity.

“We’ll leave you two to it,” Isabelle more sang than said. Alec hadn’t even seen that she and Jace were still standing there. That they had been standing there from the beginning. He just kept staring.

“Hazel,” Magnus whispered.

“Hm?” Alec wasn’t sure he had understood him correctly.

“Nothing.” Magnus cleared his throat. “I, uh, I brought you your books.”

Alec looked down and saw both his _Othello_ and _Frankenstein_. Instead of staring at Magnus he now stared at the novels in his hands instead of taking them.

Only when Magnus cleared his throat again he woke up. Mechanically he stepped to the side. “Do you want to come in?”

Magnus smiled a thin smile and went into the room as Alec closed the door behind him.

“Your siblings told me that you got grounded. I’m sorry to hear that.”

Alec nodded, his brain still trying to adjust to the situation that Magnus Bane was standing in his room.

“Yeah, I’m not allowed to leave my room. But you don’t have to be sorry; it’s not your fault.”

“Well, you are not leaving your room right now, so we’re not breaking any rules,” Magnus said, in his eyes the playful shimmer that Alec liked so much.

He laughed. “Yes, I guess you’re right.”

A small silence erupted but it wasn’t too bad, the atmosphere already less tense than in the beginning.

“So, Alexander…” Magnus practically purred the last word, which sent a shiver down Alec’s back. He blushed.

“I’m sorry I didn’t make the connection sooner,” Magnus apologized but Alec shushed him. 

“I didn’t expect you to. Actually, I was kind of hoping that you’d forgotten the incident in the cafeteria by now. It was embarrassing.” Alec was talking to his shoes more than he was talking to Magnus but he didn’t want the other boy to see how pink his cheeks were.

“I thought it was adorable. I couldn’t stop thinking about the boy from the cafeteria who gave me twenty dollars and a book for my lunch. That was until I met this mysterious bandit at the Halloween party. Alas, he vanished at midnight and left nothing but another novel. Now I was standing there with two novels and two different crushes, who luckily turned out to be one and the same. I probably would have figured it out sooner, but your voice sounded a little different that night.”

Alec chuckled in embarrassment, his whole face heated up. “My, uh, my throat was pretty sore that day. It’s better now, so that’s why I no longer sound like a bad imitation of Sam Elliot,” he tried to joke.

He had hoped that Magnus would think that he sounded more like this movie star that Izzy kept talking about. Bernard Calmady, or something like that.

“I thought you rather sounded like a very sexy version of Benedict Cumberbatch.”

Ah, yes, that was the one.

“Sorry to disappoint with my normal voice,” he muttered. God, if only he could stop blushing!

“I don’t think you could ever disappoint me, Alexander.”

This couldn’t possibly be true and Alec knew that but he could still feel something in his chest flutter. He looked up, only to meet Magnus eyes which were full of- Well, he didn’t really know what it was but it looked like… fondness.

“Unless, of course…”

 _There we go_ , Alec thought. _Moment over_.

“…you don’t kiss me right now, because I fear that I will be very disappointed if you don’t.”

Alec’s eyes widened in surprise and his jaw went slack, leaving him with his mouth open. He saw Magnus’ flirtatious smile and it made him smile as well, because he couldn’t help it.

“I think I can manage that,” he whispered.

He stepped forward, cupping Magnus’ face in his hands and bent down a little until their foreheads touched. One shared breath and then, finally, their lips met.

And they lived happily ever after.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's it! This was so much work but I'm glad that I did it and I'm so proud I actually finished it.  
> Tell me what you think of it; I'm dying to hear it! 
> 
> @dontblinkamelia on tumblr


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